A/N:
Ages of major characters:
Batfamily:
Dick Grayson (Nightwing): 20...Barbara Gordon (Batgirl): 20
Jason Todd (Robin): 16*...Tim Drake (Red Robin): 14
*Birthday is in August so is still 16 at beginning of chapter
The Titans:
Donna Troy (Troia): 21...Koriand'r (Starfire): 20
Garth (Tempest): 22...Zatanna Zatara: 21
Raquel Ervin (Rocket): 22 ...Vic Stone (Cyborg): 20
Lilith (Omen): 19...Jade Nguyen (Cheshire): 25
Kara Zor-El (Supergirl): 17...Garfield "Gar" Logan (Beast Boy): 14
Roy Harper (Speedy): 17...Karen Beecher (Bumblebee): 22
Bart Allen (Impulse): 14...Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle): 17
Virgil Hawkins (Static): 16*
*Like in the show, Virgil was one of the Reach prisoners and was the only one who decided to join the Titans. The rest of the former Reach prisoners work as heroes solely in their local areas.
Other Heroes:
Will Harper (Red Arrow): 24
A quick note: I'm not great with languages. So, if my translations are off, please tell me and I will correct it.
ooooooo
"He's coming."
Dick whips his head around only to choke on the thick scent of decay.
Who's coming?
He tries to call the question into the darkness only for the words to dry and burn in his throat like he's swallowing sand instead of air. His skin withers and cracks against the cold until he can feel blood running down the cuts.
"He's coming," she whispers again.
The darkness finally lifts around him and all he can see is a desolate field of dead plants and bones lit by a sky awash in flames. There's something familiar and Dick can't quite-
Something's here.
Something dark and other.
His tendons tighten and his bones ache. The dark feeling is getting closer and he can almost see it inching across the sky. It's...it's
"He's coming."
Dick jerks awake.
Soft light streams through the window and the scent of dirt and life from the plants fills around the room where his face is pressed into soft red hair.
He relaxes back into the pillow.
"Nightmare," Kory asks.
He smiles, pulling closer with the arm wrapped around her waist. "Not anymore."
She turns in his arms, smiling back at him. The light from the widow casts her hair in a halo around her face, reminding Dick strikingly of a sunrise.
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"Honestly, I think I've forgotten most of it already," he admits, pushing the last vague uneasiness out of his mind to lean his head against hers. "Besides, I think there are better things to think about."
She hums amused, scooting even closer until her entire body is fitted up against his. "Oh, are there?"
"Definitely," he agrees, leaning in the final inch to kiss her.
She pushes up to meet him and for the next few minutes, Dick let's himself get lost in the soft sun and the lazy warmth and the dizzying feeling of Kory pressed up against him.
"You are forgetting something," she whispers, hands running up into his hair.
"I," he kisses her again, "am seriously of the mind that whatever it is can wait."
She laughs. "It is Monday."
Dick stops and then, groans-loudly and with feeling.
"...I have class, don't I?"
She nods, still smiling. She hasn't pulled away. "You need to be in Gotham."
Dick checks the clock.
"The class isn't until ten," he says stubbornly. "I still have a few minutes."
She laughs again, leaning down to kiss him, short and teasing, before pulling away. "But, a few minutes never stays a few minutes, does it, mel klexh?"
Dick smile softens.
"Mel klexh. My heart," he says, translating the Tamaranean.
"You are getting better," she says, sounding pleased. "Though we still need to work on your pronunciation…."
He winks. "Tes yeux, j'en rêve jour et nuit."
Your eyes, I dream about day and night.
"French," she guesses, sliding softly out of the bed.
"Ouais," he agrees, just leaning back to watch her before swapping languages. "Ты мой рай, ты моё небо, ты моё солнце."
"Flaterer," she accuses, picking through the clothes around the room. "Also, Russian?"
The wonderful thing about the Tamaran physiology is the ability to pick up languages via touch. The harder part is distinguishing one language system from the other, especially when most of the Earth ones Kory knows came from the same source. Kory and Dick like to make it a game.
Dick nods. "Você me faz querer ser uma pessoa melhor."
Kory's grinning at him fully now, slipping a shirt over her head. "Spanish?"
"Close. Portugesse." Dick pauses, tilting his head at the shirt. "You know I'm pretty sure that's mine."
"Is it," Kory asks a touch mischievously, looking down at the Gotham Knight's logo. "Hmm, I guess you could say I stole it, then? You do not mind, do you, mel klexh?"
Dick swings his legs over the bed, stretching as he gets up. "Well, you know normally I wouldn't, since it's you and all. But…"
"But….," Kory asks, leaning back against his chest as he wraps his arms around her.
"It's just...as a vigilante, I have to take a very strict stance against stealing," Dick says, fitting his chin against her shoulder. "Uphold a certain standard, you know?"
Kory laughs, loud and bright, as she leans back to kiss him. "I believe I can make it up to you."
"Hmm," he bends down into the kiss, "I'm afraid taking bribes is sadly frowned upon in this heroism business."
"One exception?" He can feel her smile under his lips.
"Well...maybe just one."
He threads his hands through her hair as she turns in his arms and this….this right now is as close to perfect as Dick's felt in a long time.
"Shukar," he says softly, finally swapping back to his first language.
Beautiful.
"Romani," Kory smiles gently. "And you still have class."
"...Right." Dick sighs, leaning down for one last kiss before pulling away.
Kory throws a shirt and shorts at him. "Hurry, I still want breakfast."
Dick nods, getting dressed. "Who's on cooking duty?"
"Garth," Kory answers happily.
"...I think I'll eat at the manor."
A few minutes later, Kory and Dick walk into the Tower kitchen, the overwhelming scent of cooked fish wafting through the air.
Garth grins over his Kiss the Cook apron. "Hey, guys, fried squid eye?"
"Of course!" Kory beams enthusiastically, reaching for a plate.
Dick smiles apologetically. "Oh, geeze, I would but Alfred would kill me if I missed his big waffle day."
Garth shrugs, turning back to the fryer. "Your loss."
On the other side of the counter with Zatanna, Lilith looks up at him with envy in her eyes.
"Waffles," she asks pitifully.
Dick winks. "I'll save you some."
"URGH! These stupid cards!" Zatanna throws her stack of tarot cards on the counter before turning to Garth. "When's Tula gonna get here so I can talk magic?"
Garth rolls his eyes, serving Kory her plate. "You know I can do magic. Top in my class and student to the Queen, in fact."
"No, you can punch things with magic. In fact, you can punch things really, really well with magic." Zatanna gestures to her cards. "I need someone I can talk magic theory with so I can find out why my stupid tarot cards keep giving me nonsense."
Garth considers this before nodding. "Fair. She'll be by this afternoon."
Zatanna blows him a kiss. "Look at it this way, you're still much better at magic than Dick. He still thinks Lilith's telepathy is the same as mind reading half the time."
Garth laughs. "Ouch, drowned with faint praise."
"...it's not mind reading," Dick asks sheepishly.
Simultaneously, Lilith, Zatanna, and Garth all turn to give him pitying looks.
"Oookay, well that's one lesson learned," Dick pushes off from the counter, kissing Kory's cheek. "And on that note, I'm off to Gotham. Enjoy your squid, everyone."
He pauses before heading to the zeta. "So, if it's not mind reading, what is it?"
"Triangulation magic with an empathetic and mental focus," Lilith answers with a shrug. "More sensory, less distracting noise."
Dick makes a face. "...which is different than mind reading?"
Zatanna laughs, leaning over to pinch his cheek. "You're lucky you're cute."
Dick gives it up for a loss, heading off to the zeta.
A few moments later, he's in the cave, heading up to the heavenly smell of Alfred's cooking….and the sound of bickering.
It's funny how both feel like home.
"You're insane," Tim says, stabbing into his waffle. "Mr. Freeze is a scientist-that's brains. He beats Killer Croc hands down."
Jason's already shaking his head. "Brains that he uses to make the evil versions of slushies. Croc's survived winters in the sewers, no way cold gets to him. Plus, Croc's a bro. My money's on him every day of the week."
"Morning," Dick walks in, ruffling Tim's hair as he surveys the table. "Jay, Timmy...Bart? You know last time I checked, you don't technically live here."
Bart shrugs through practically two mouthfuls of food. "Tim told me it was waffle day."
Dick rolls his eyes. "Just make sure you-"
"Use the zeta in the cave and don't use my superspeed anywhere in Gotham," Bart waves a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, heard it before."
"Dick, tell Jason he's an idiot if he thinks Killer Croc beats Freeze," Tim says, glaring across the table.
Jason snorts in a way that somehow conveys insult to Tim's intellect, his character, and quite possibly his existence. It's very impressive for a snort.
"Dick, tell Tim nothing because I don't need to call in other people to win an argument."
"How would you know? You've never won one," Tim shoots back.
"Killer Croc vs. Mr. Freeze." Dick hums. "Doesn't matter, Riddler beats them both."
Jason and Tim just look at him with expressions of profound disappointment.
"Well, that's just wrong," Jason says firmly. Tim nods beside him
Dick laughs, sliding into his seat and serving a plate. "Bab's here yet?"
"In the kitchen," Tim answers
With her usual uncanny timing, Barbara chooses that moment to walk through the door and plop down next to Dick. "As if I'm ever the one that's late." She eyes him critically. "You wore that shirt yesterday."
Dick shrugs. "It's college, no one cares."
She rolls her eyes. "Ten bucks it makes it in a gossip rag by tomorrow."
"Fifteen it makes it by the afternoon," he counters.
"How's Kory," Jason asks between bites.
Dick smile widens, halfway to responding before-
"Ew, nevermind, forget I asked," Jason says.
"I didn't even say anything yet," he protests.
"And yet I'm still nauseous."
"Kory's fine," Dick continues anyway. He pauses. "By the way, you guys know that Lilith doesn't do mind reading?"
Jason frowns. "Then what the fuck is it?"
"Language, Master Jason," Alfred calls sternly from the kitchen.
Jason winces.
"Then what is it," Tim asks, smirking.
"Not sure. Apparently, I suck at magic."
Bart finishes the last of his waffle. "'Cause magic doesn't exist."
Tim groans. "Not again. I'm even a detective and just no, please no."
"Magic is just science that hasn't been explained yet," Bart argues with a grin. "Everything's got an explanation somewhere."
Privately, Dick thinks it's hilarious that the one Wally trait that Bart has, without question, fully embraced is this one.
Bart's stomach growls and he looks mournfully down at his empty plate. "So….who's cooking breakfast at the Tower this morning?"
"Garth."
Bart grimaces, clearly debating.
"Jaime's coming by the Tower later to train with Virgil," Dick adds casually.
Bart brightens. "Well, trying new food is crash, too! And you know, the sooner the better." He looks at Tim with an exceptionally serious expression. "Don't forget about lunch."
Tim nods. "Just go, you glutton!"
"Awesome!" There's a streak of lightning and a sudden rush of wind and then, Dick's alone with his family.
Babs turns to Tim. "So, exactly, how did you end up owing food to Bart?"
"I bet him he couldn't read the entire San Francisco public library," Tim admits.
Jason judges him. "That is a terrible bet, Timbo. You do remember he's a speedster, right?"
Tim shrugs. "Yeah, but think about it like this. Now, we basically have a walking encyclopedia on the team."
Jason leans back in his chair, looking incredibly reluctant to be impressed.
Barbara laughs, bright and clear, and for a second, Dick pauses in his eating to just watch the table.
Dick doesn't really understand magic. He's always been more likely to put his faith in gut instincts, in the things he can feel, mysteries he can puzzle out. He doesn't exactly believe in destiny, either. He believes in choices and chances and a million other things that makes life unpredictable-even for crystal balls and Zatanna's tarot cards.
So, no, he doesn't understand magic and he doesn't believe in destiny. But, he does believe in luck.
And this morning, eating breakfast with his family, seeing his team happy, waking up to Kory, Dick Grayson feels unbelievably lucky.
ooooooo
"A security alarm just went off on the warehouses in East End," Barbara reports on the comms. "Betting it has something to do with the Maroni arrests. I'll check it out. Anyone near for back up in case we got runners?"
"I'm still in the Bowery." Dick lands lightly on the nearest building. "Seven minutes out."
Jason groans over the comm. "I'm all the way out in Otisburg. Fifteen minutes?"
"I got it," Tim calls, excited. "Just finished patrolling the docks. One minute away!"
"Great, meet on the roof off Westward," Babs says and Dick can hear the smile in her voice.
Dick leans back on his heels, balancing on the five inches of scaffolding as he considers following. Around him, the night air is still and quiet and, well, almost peaceful if you forget about the old blood stains that are basically just Gotham scenery by now.
From long experience, Gotham nights that can, in any way, be described as "quiet" or "still" feel like a spider crawling up his spine and waiting to bite.
But, creepy crawling feeling still beats the look Barbara will give him if he buts in just because he's bored.
The hairs stand up abruptly and a chill shudders down his arms.
"He's coming…"
Dick jerks his head around, trying to find the faint whisper but there's nothing there, just an empty rooftop. The city around him is still silent, the only movements coming from the normal buzz of city life, the turn of the wind, and a brief flash of orange between buildings.
Dick feels his heart beat faster and suddenly, he finds himself smiling.
The night just got interesting.
He jumps, shooting a line at the last minute so his swing cuts across the corner quick and heavy.
A figure lands on an abandoned shop a second before Dick knocks into him and they both go down hard enough to break the skylight beneath them.
Still falling, an elbow jams hard into Dick's ribs at the same time something much sharper goes for his throat.
Dick laughs as he blocks the later, catching onto a stray railing and flipping himself over it to land lightly on the metal grate.
A foot slams into his chest, knocking him back enough that he has to pull into a back handspring to absorb the momentum.
The figure charges and Dick brings up his knee, not a strong enough hit to make the figure lose his sword but enough to make him dodge to the side. Dick follows up with a punch that lands neatly against the figure's stomach.
"Better," the figure grunts out and Dick can hear the approval behind the words.
Dick slides back to block the next hit. "What brings you to Gotham?"
"Can't stop by to say 'hello'," Slade returns. "It's been ages, kid."
"You were here two months ago."
"Ages," he repeats and Dick can hear the smirk. "It's Gotham, two months and the entire city could've blow up."
Dick swears as the next hit his close enough to clip his shoulder. "I hate how true that is."
"You live in a shit city." Slade relaxes back out of a fighting stance, sliding his swords back behind his back and pulling off his mask.
Dick follows his lead, albeit more cautiously. "Hello, Slade."
Slade snorts, casting a glance back up to the broken skylight. "Tell me, kid, you greet all your friends by pushing them through a roof or am I just special?"
"Ah, so we're friends now? My mistake, I would have chosen a taller building."
Slade shrugs. "Friends, adversaries, mortal enemies-all just depends on the end goal, doesn't it?"
Dick smiles in a way both friendly and sharp. One of the many interesting things about interacting with Slade Wilson is that Dick never worries about blunting his own edges.
"And what end goal do you have this time, Slade?"
"Me?" Slade brings a hand to his chest. "I thought it was obvious. Here I am, a kind professional checking in on my chronically wayward former pupil?"
"Bullshit."
Slade laughs. "And here I thought heroes were constantly trying to see the good in people. You saying you don't believe me, kid?
"Can't say I make a habit out of it." Dick cocks his head. "Really, why are you in Gotham?"
"The seafood. I hear it's to die for, probably literally considering the amount of poisons dumped in that river."
"Fine." Dick rolls his eyes. "Since you're dropping by, you want to tell me what the Light's got planning next?"
"The Light?" He hums. "Not sure why you even think I'm still on their payroll."
Dick gives him a flat look.
Slade just smirks.
"...Right," Dick says eventually, pausing for a moment to run through the options. Slade's not here for a job. He hardly ever takes the hassle of Gotham jobs, not unless the pay's exceptionally good. As far as Dick knows, none of Gotham's main culprits currently have enough funds or desperation to interest Deathstroke.
That leaves three other options. No recent run ins with the Light so Slade's not here to taunt him. He doesn't want Dick's help or he'd have led with that. Which leaves the last option. Slade's here for something else. Something Dick's not thinking of.
Dick sighs. "Come on, Slade, I don't have time to guess. I'm in the middle of patrol."
If anything, Slade's smirk gets even wider. "Well, far be it for me to stop you. Go on, kid, if you're really that busy.
Dick pauses, waiting for more. With Slade, there's always more.
"Hmm, I suppose I do have one question." Slade picks idly at his nails. "Heard back from the Green Lantern Corps yet, kid?"
Under his mask, Dick narrows his eyes.
"No," he says shortly.
"That's a real shame."
"What do you know?"
"About the Corps? Nothing really. Bunch of adrenaline junkies with an unhealthy obsession for green." He holds up his hand in a parody of a sendoff. "Now, go on, you've got patrol and I've got better places to be than Gotham City."
"Slade."
The mercenary laughs, already turning away. "Isn't that funny, kid. One second, you don't have time to talk and the next you're begging me to stay."
Dick rolls his eyes. "I wouldn't say 'begging'."
"That a challenge," Slade asks, turning back just far enough to smirk. "Too bad, afraid my schedule's too full to take it. Besides, you were right. Gotham's seafood sucks."
The mercenary's already sinking back in the shadows, half a dare for Dick to follow him; but Dick's not willing to give him the satisfaction today.
He lets him go, mouth pressed down in a frown as he watches Slade disappear into the shadows and from there into the crevices of Gotham City.
One day-just once-Dick's going to get a straight answer out of the mercenary. But, until then, Dick finally shoots the line to bring him back up to the roof and from there back into Gotham streets.
He finishes the rest of the patrol with the quick sort of efficiency that comes from a mind dedicated to other thoughts.
Not all of Slade's visits to Gotham have a known reason. Sometimes Dick's fairly sure the older man does it just to get under Dick's skin. But...times like that Slade's normally not one to let a conversation end early. This time, he didn't try to stop Dick, there wasn't another surprise hit, no final taunt, not even a move to extend the conversation.
Slade always has his reasons...even if they're not known reasons.
And the fact that Dick can't figure this one out means he spends the rest of the night on his toes and watching the shadows extra close.
When the night finally reaches its last legs, Dick's back in the cave, his brothers and Barbara drifting in behind him.
Babs leans back in the computer chair, lifting a lock of her hair for further inspection. "How is it that warehouse fires stick in your hair worse than regular fires?"
"Better than sewers," Jason offers, rotating his shoulders in a final stretch.
Barbara considers before nodding decisively. "Yes. You are absolutely right, nothing sucks worse than the sewers."
"Acid vats," Tim argues at the same Dick says, "Meat processing plants."
"All valid contenders," Barbara agrees.
"But sewers still win," Jason says smugly. He frowns. "Or loses. Whichever the fuck is the right verb usage for this shit. Is the best at being the worst an oxymoron?"
Tim tilts his head. "It's too late to deal with the English language."
Dick laughs, popping back up from his warmdown stretches and shivering again in the coldness of the cave. "Come on, to the showers and then hopefully we can all get a little sleep before…"
Dick stalls mid-sentence as he turns.
Around him the cave is gone.
There's nothing. No Barbara. No Jason. No Tim.
He can't even make out the rock walls, only darkness.
"Babs," he tries. The word comes out like broken glass, cutting against his throat until he's choking on it. His hands scramble at his throat and suddenly, there's light.
No….there's fire.
The desert field of bones and dried plants is back around him and the sky shifts through the bright orange of flames and the dark black of smoke.
He squints against the smoke, trying to pick up why everything looks almost familiar.
"He's coming."
Dick twists around.
A teenage girl is standing in front of him with shoulder length black hair and a dark cloak wrapped around her. Her eyes dart around the field, wide and afraid.
"Who are you," Dick manages to croak out.
The girl's eyes land on him and Dick notices that there's no irises. Just deep black staring back at him.
"He's coming," she says again.
There's something shifting in the sky, stabbing at peripherals yet not close enough to make out.
Dick tries again. "Who's coming?"
Suddenly, the girl's in front of him, grabbing at his arms with eyes boring into his.
"Trigon."
"Who is…," Dick blinks and the girl's gone and he's sitting against the familiar rock of the cave.
Barbara stares down at him, hands tight on his arms right where the girl's were a second ago.
"...Dick," she says cautiously.
"Yeah." The word comes out smooth and unbroken and Dick coughs, still expecting sand and broken glass in his throat. "...yeah, Babs, I'm here. What happened?"
"You went frickin' catatonic in the middle of the cave," Jason grounds out, leaning down beside Barbara and looking at him with a tight, worried expression. "It was weird, Dick. You just stopped responding, stopped moving. We didn't know-"
"Are you okay," Tim interrupts quietly, filling in on Babs' other side.
Dick's not sure how to answer that.
ooooooo
"You're fine," Jade accuses.
Dick rolls his eyes. "Quit saying that like it's a bad thing!"
Jade narrows her eyes suspiciously. "Your blood pressure's normal, your heart rate's fine, even the CT and MRI scans came back clear which is amazing given your propensity for concussions." She flips through another sheet. "Your tox screen only shows the usual low residual traces."
"So, I'm good?"
"You said you hallucinated?"
"Barely for a minute. Nothing major."
Jade taps on the chart. "Come in contact with anything unusual during patrol?"
"Just the usual," he says, neglecting to mention Slade. There's no point. Poisoning's never been Slade's style.
"Look," he continues, "it's like you said, I'm fine. It was probably just some residual fear toxin kicking in once the adrenaline from patrol wore off. If my tox screen is only showing low residuals now, then it burned its way through."
Jade sets down the clipboard and crosses her arms. "I hope you're not being an idiot."
"Well, I rarely try. Mostly it comes naturally."
She fixes him with a look. "If it happens again…."
"Then, I'll worry," Dick promises.
Jade glares at him for another handful of seconds, assessing.
"Fine," Jade sighs heavily, "I'm clearing you. Leave and next time, you call me to the Tower at four in the morning, you better be dying."
He grins, hopping off the med bay bed. "Hard to believe you didn't decide to go clinical with your stunning bedside manner."
Jade gives him a very rude gesture he's pretty sure is illegal in a few countries.
Dick's smiling as he walks out of the med bay.
"Unca Dih! Unca Dih!"
"Hey, princess!" Dick shoots Will a puppy dog look until he obligingly hands over the squirming toddler. "How's my favorite goddaughter?"
Lian giggles, clinging happily to Dick's neck as her little cap falls to the floor.
Will picks it up. "Jade say your head's okay?"
"As okay as usual."
Will snorts. "Suppose that's all we can ask."
Will fits the ball cap back on Lian's head, only for the almost two year old to throw it back down a second later.
He sighs. "She hates that cap. Not sure why."
"Cause it's hideous," Dick says and Lian grins up at him.
"You, don't encourage her. Jade's mom gave her that cap. And you," Will swaps to pointing at Lian, "please don't ever take your sense of style from Uncle Dick."
Lian giggles again, burrowing further into Dick's arms and yawning. Dick kisses the top of her head before looking back up at Will. "You here for Jade?"
"I'm here because one of my best friends blacked out and started to hallucinate. Picking up my wife for lunch is just a bonus."
"What's life without a few hallucinations now and then?"
Will rolls his eyes hard.
"I'm fine, really," Dick reassures. "It was probably just some residual fear toxin, nothing we haven't seen before. Everyone can quit worrying."
Will pauses, opening his mouth to speak just as the hiss of the door sounds and Kory walks in. She looks to Dick first as if measuring that he's really okay before her eyes turn to Lian and her smile goes warm. "Well, hello, little one."
Lian smiles up at her before squirming slightly in her "put me down" kind of way. Dick obliges and she toddles back to cling onto Will's leg. Will slips the cap back on, triumphant. "Come on, princess, let's go get mom from the med-bay before she starts experimenting with the poisons again."
Lian grabs at his hand. "Poisons!"
Will sighs heavily, muttering "Jade" under his breath.
Before he goes, he turns briefly back to Dick. "Of course, we worry, Rob, you're family."
He disappears into the medbay before Dick can respond.
"He is right, you know," Kory says softly.
He slips an arm around her. "I'm fine, Kory. Jade gave me the all clear."
"Yet we will still worry, it is like Will says; it is what families do," she pauses, voice dropping slightly. "Good families, I mean. Real ones."
Gently, Dick pulls her closer until she can rest her head on his shoulder.
She smiles up at him. "Be careful, mel klexh."
"Aren't I always?"
His communicator beeps before she can answer.
Dick looks down.
Kory feels him tense. "An emergency?"
"No...no, it's a meeting," Dick answers quietly, still looking down at words he can't quite believe while the conversation with Slade runs through his mind.
"It's from Alan Scott….he heard from the Guardians."
ooooooo
Following the Invasion, a fair number of businesses around the world shut their doors for a variety of reasons: death of the owners, lack of demand with the lower population, or simply too many ties to the former hero business. Seven years later and things are getting better. Old lots renovated into new enterprises. Sons and daughters returning to reopen family businesses. Things are growing.
On the outskirts of Coast City, Ferris Air still stands vacant as a reminder of what was lost.
Well….maybe not quite vacant.
A small blue man with wispy white hair and a long red gown stands at the end of the runway, looking out into the lights of the city.
He doesn't turn as Dick and Alan approach. "You know Hal Jordan described this place nearly every time he was stationed on Oa and yet, I am still unsure exactly what I expected."
"It was different when it was up and running," Alan comments, running a hand through blonde hair gone white with age. "Trust me, Hal, took me up here one time when they were testing new engines. Entire place was loud enough I swear I lost half my hearing."
"Everything is different when it's full of life." The man finally turns, offering a small smile. "Richard Grayson of Earth, I am Ganthet, a Guardian of the Green Lantern Corps."
Dick nods. "Hal and John always spoke highly of you."
Ganthet raises an eyebrow, something not quite amusement passing over his face. "And Green Lantern Gardner?"
Alan coughs on a laugh. "Guy's always been the type to use more….colorful language than most."
"And how is Guy Gardner?"
Alan sobers. "No change, still in complete stasis."
Dick refrains from shifting on his feet. It's not as if nothing bad ever happened to heroes before the Invasion, it's just much easier to forget. Guy Gardner was injured critically and rendered comatose years before Dick even became Robin.
Ganthet nods, looking unsurprised. "The rings do have truly amazing healing capabilities when it comes to keeping their Lanterns alive….no matter the quality of life that may be. Yes, I imagine that if there's even a hint of a heartbeat, the ring will continue to keep Green Lantern Gardner in stasis." He looks briefly back out to the lights of the city and when he next speaks, his words are slow and measured. "I need the both of you to understand that my fellow Guardians do not know about, and certainly would not approve of, this current meeting."
"That doesn't sound particularly promising for our alliance," Dick says, carefully keeping his tone neutral for now.
"No, I'm afraid it is not."
"The Reach claimed that the Green Lantern Corps have abandoned the Earth," Dick continues. "Were they telling the truth?"
"It is not that simple," he admits. "To truly see my fellow Guardians' decision, you must understand your planet's place in the universe." Ganthet smiles softly at the city. "Earth is such a young planet, such a young galaxy. You've barely grasped the beginnings of interstellar communication in the last century and yet have shown so much promise. You humans are such….enterprising creatures."
The Guardian clears his throat, voice going clinical. "When you look at resources, Earth is in an utterly unique position. A relatively small planet, barely the size of other galaxies' moons, and with no interstellar defense to speak of. And despite that, your planet has played a key role in almost every major interstellar conflict within the last few decades. Two of your Lanterns ranked among the Corp's most decorated and, until their deaths, served in the Lantern's upper echelon. And, of course, most unusually…." Ganthet pauses, "by some quirk of nature, Earth is the birth place to over sixty percent of the universe's meta-gene population."
He sighs. "To put it bluntly, The Guardians have seen Earth as a promising, developing solar system for the past century. It is why we allocated two Green Lanterns to serve in your sector and allowed them to be stationed mostly on their home world instead of Oa."
"So, you're saying that Earth was seen as….as 'promising' until the Invasion." Dick keeps his voice steady. "The Invasion changed things."
We lost, he doesn't say. Did we lose too much and that's why you gave up on us?
Is it because he couldn't do better?
Ganthet regards him. "Yes, the Invasion changed things."
"I have a question," Alan speaks up. "Before we get to how the Invasion apparently messed everything up, I've got a question I've wanted to ask for years. Where were the rest of the Corps during the Invasion? I know we sent the emergency transmit. Where were you? Two of your best Lanterns died and you never even sent back up? Shit, we never even found out what planet the bastards that caused the Invasion came from!"
"Because we do not know," Ganthet says calmly.
Alan frowns. "The Guardians don't know who caused the Invasion?"
"Earth was not the first target, it was only the last," Ganthet continues bluntly. "Before the force arrived on Earth, it took a path crossing through several galaxies. Alan Scott of Earth, you ask why the Guardians did not assist Earth, it is because we were already responding to emergency calls from planets across five other solar systems. Lythyl, Almerac, Janus IX, Colu, Mosteel. All worlds with vastly advanced technology and defense systems compared to Earth. All completely destroyed within hours by the same force responsible for the Invasion here." He shakes his head. "No, we don't know where the force came from. All we know is that the remains we salvaged showed traces of antimatter….and that it is, by far, the most dangerous threat that the Green Lantern Corps have ever faced."
Dry wind sweeps through the quiet of the airfield.
Finally, Alan's mouth firms. "The most significant threat to the Corps? And, now, you're punishing Earth because we couldn't defeat it fast enough for you?"
"No, you misunderstand," Ganthet says, still in that infuriatingly passive voice.
"Then, explain it," Alan orders, "because the least you owe Hal and John is an explanation on why you gave up on the world they died to protect!"
Ganthet meets Alan's eyes. "We didn't expect Earth to win."
Silence. Eerie, echoing silence, pulling warmth out of the very air.
"You were a developing world," Ganthet continues softly, "a promising one; but, still….just developing. Of course, the Corps did not expect you to win. We were pooling our resources to the next planet in the path. It was strategic. We did not expect you to defeat a threat that the Lanterns could not. That five more advanced planets could not. And yet….you did."
Sparks hit against each other and Dick realizes it with sudden clarity.
"The Corps didn't abandon us because we nearly lost. You abandoned us because we won."
Ganthet does not speak.
"You're afraid of us," Dick accuses.
"The Guardians do not feel fear," Ganthet says in a way that's not denial.
Alan steps forward, stopping directly in front of Ganthet, to look down with old eyes in a wrinkled face. When he next speaks, the previous anger has hardened into something far less forgiving.
"Hal and John would be ashamed."
Ganthet hesitates before speaking next. "Yes, I believe they would be. But, unfortunately, I cannot change the decisions of my brothers and sisters. I can only attempt to guide their better natures."
"Yeah?" Alan raises an eyebrow. "Well, tell me when that actually does anything."
Ganthet doesn't answer.
"What is Earth's current situation with the Corps," Dick breaks in, pushing down his feelings to confront later. Information must come first. "You said it wasn't as simple as the Reach led us to believe. Tell us how. Because right now, it sounds fairly simple."
"Earth was not abandoned. Not exactly," Ganthet says. "Other civilizations were ...afraid of the power Earth could grow to, it's the Guardians job to control that fear. We believed that the best way to handle the situation was to cut off this sector from further contact. To declare this sector a restricted zone." He sighs again, sounding weary. "It's not abandonment, not precisely, I argued and well...I was able to convince the others that a patrol should at least be established to guard against entry."
Dick crosses his arms. "And if a threat gets passed that guard…"
"The Lanterns are still denied entry to this sector," Ganthet confirms. "If an enemy gets passed the perimeter, we can not send aid….or warning."
Ganthet reaches into his robe before either can speak. "That is why I am here now, actually. As a token of….I suppose you can call it 'respect' and as a farewell. For what it is worth, I did not want the Corp's relationship with Earth to end this way."
He passes forward a small stone that projects out onto a hologram the moment it touches Dick's palm.
"What is this," Dick asks, looking at the small hologram of a spaceship suspended above the stars.
"A few days ago, the Lanterns guarding the perimeter came in contact with a vessel requesting entry. They believe one of their royalty is lost in this sector," Ganthet says, "I'm afraid because of the diplomatic nature of the request, the Guardians were pressured into acquiescing to entry for a small convoy."
Dick frowns. "Who are they?"
Ganthet steps forward, rolling the stone until the hologram zooms in on a familiar face.
"The court of Princess Komand'r, acting queen of Tamaran. They believe her sister Princess Koriand'r is hiding on Earth."
ooooooo
Sitting tense on her bed, Kory maneuvers the stone in her hand, smoothly studying the ship until she finally stops on the frozen face of her sister.
Dick sits beside her.
Kory doesn't speak, just watching the photo.
"I knew she would come eventually," she says finally.
"Kory-"
"She is using an ambassador ship," Kory interrupts, voice clipped, "Moderate powered engines, high in defensive capabilities but low in offensive weapons, only big enough for a small contingent. Whatever my sister is planning, I do not believe it is an invasion. Not with this ship. She does not have the forces to hold a city, much less a planet. Earth will be safe."
Dick lays a hand on hers. "That's good. Ganthet said about the same before he left. But, if it's not an invasion, what do you think she's planning?"
Kory's hand is still stiff under his hand. "It is Komand'r. All her life, she has only been motivated by two things: power and rage. I cannot believe now is any different."
"We can handle her," he reassures. "You and me, the Titans, all of us. It's like you always say, we're strong together. She won't win."
Kory stays quiet.
"Kory, please tell me what you're thinking."
A beat passes before Kory surrenders just enough tension to lean against his shoulder.
"I am scared," she admits quietly, "and more than scared, I am angry. Every time my sister has come into my life, she has taken everything I hold dear. I will not let her do it here. But, I am afraid….," Kory shakes her head, hair brushing against his cheek. "My sister hates me, Dick. She hates me more than anything she has ever known. And I….sometimes, I hate her, too."
"She tried to kill you, Kory. It's normal to want to hate her."
"Yes," Kory agrees, "but, I do not wish to be a person that hates others. It is not what I want. And I refuse to let anyone, even Komand'r, turn me into a person I do not want to be."
She sighs. "That is why I am angry. Because hearing her name, seeing her face, reminds me of the person I used to be. And I will not let her turn me back into the scared little girl I was five years ago. I do not want her to have that kind of power."
"She doesn't, Kory. No one has that kind of power."
"Does she not?" Kory shakes her head. "We are always influenced by our environments, mel klexh, that is merely the truth of the matter." She lifts her head from Dick's shoulder to meet Dick's eyes. "I have told you before. Being here, being with the Titans, with you, you reminded me of the person that I want to be."
"Kory," Dick says, "environments may change us; but, we choose how we change. The Titans, me, this Earth, we were never the ones that changed you. You chose that yourself."
"I am scared," Kory repeats. "I am so scared that I will forget that. That my sister will turn me into a person that I do not want to be, that I did not choose to be."
Dick reaches up until his hands frame her face. "Kory-Koriand'r of Tamaran, you're one of the kindest, bravest people I know. No one can change that. Especially not your sister."
Kory closes her eyes, leaning until her head rests against his. "You may need to remind me of that."
"I will." Dick smiles. "As long as it takes until you believe me."
ooooooo
The school clock tower chimes briefly at a quarter to the hour as Dick walks out of his last exam, already pulling out his phone.
He needs to meet with Mera and Hippolyta. Garth and Donna had already been sent to brief the queens about the meeting with Ganthet; but, that's still a far cry from actually having a solid plan.
The most immediate threat is Komand'r.
When it comes to Earth's desertion by the Green Lantern Corps, the meeting with Ganthet was more confirmation than anything. Really, they've been acting under the assumption ever since the Reach over a year ago. The only surprise was the reasoning and that Dick still doesn't know how to process. How do you react to being told your world should have died?
Then, there was the Invasion itself.
It...it's not like Dick has never wondered where the machines had come from. Of course, he did. He spent months after the Invasion wondering if they'd be back. If it was only a first wave and the second wave would finally destroy them. Of course, he wondered, he scoured archives, and he made back up plans and redundancies and failsafes until he could finally sleep. He never found out where they came from; he could only plan for if they came always assumed that he didn't have enough intel to find out.
It means something different when the Green Lanterns don't know either.
An unnatural shiver goes up Dick's spine despite the summer heat and Dick looks up, searching before he even realizes what he's trying to find.
The girl from his hallucination sits huddled on a bench in front of the clocktower, black cloak sticking out against the green trees and sun.
Dick feels his stomach drop even as his skin prickles in the sudden cold.
Not now. He doesn't have time for this.
He wonders if it's too much to ask to push possible insanity off to another day.
The girl looks up at him. "Hello, Dick Grayson, Nightwing, leader of the Titans. I need your help."
His heart's beating hard in his chest as he sits next to her. "You're not really here, are you?"
"No," the girl answers and Dick can't help notice how young she is, probably around Tim's age. Outside of the darkness of his dreams and with her legs pulled up to her chest, she looks incredibly small.
"Are you real or am I hallucinating this?"
"Why can't it be both?" She gives a small smile. "I'm not something you made up, I promise."
Dick gives a slightly wild laugh. "I don't know if I should really believe a hallucination."
She ducks her head, staying quiet.
"What's your name?"
The girl clearly hesitates before answering. "I can't give you my real name. Even in a dream. It has too much power, Trigon will find me. But...you can call me Raven."
"Raven," he repeats the name as if the sound will make everything more concrete.
He eyes the other students, walking by without sparing them a glance. Dick wonders what they look like to them-the eldest Wayne heir, a minor Gotham celebrity, sitting on a bench and talking to himself or talking to a strange teenager in a cloak. Either option Dick thinks would at least garner a few looks. The fact that there's none…
"Why can't they see us," Dick asks.
She shrugs. "Because they're not looking."
He mulls that over. "And I am?"
"You are because I found you," Raven answers. "I need you to look."
"At Trigon?"
Raven nods and something about the air around her goes darker. "He's coming. I can't stop him anymore. I'm not strong enough."
"Who is he," Dick asks
"He's Death. Destruction. Chaos," She glances quickly at the sky. "He's a demon and If he makes it to this plane, he will destroy everything. He will turn this world into the one I've shown you."
"How do you know," Dick presses. "How do you know any of this? How are you even here? How do you know my name?"
"I'm...I see visions," she admits. "My magic is...it's weird, broken, I can't control it. I can't trust it. It just shows me what I need to know. The people that need to be there." She closes her eyes briefly to breathe. "I don't know how it's going to happen, not really. I just know the end. I know that if Trigon makes it through to this world, he'll destroy it."
She meets his eyes, desperation creeping into her voice. "I don't have much more time. Please, you have to get ready. You can't let him win. Please believe me! I….," she looks down, sounding very young, "I didn't know who else I could go to and I...I can't stop him alone. He's too strong."
"How can we help you?" Dick reaches forward, only for his hand to go through her shoulder. "Raven, if you want help, you need to tell me how."
She frowns, curling in on herself. "I don't know yet. All I know is I'll need you there. You have to be there. I'm trying to find you. I am! But, it's not that easy. I just need more-"
"Dick?"
Dick turns to see Barbara walking towards him with her computer bag slung over her shoulder.
He blinks, turning back to Raven and is somehow not at all surprised to find her gone. Not even a trace to show she was anything outside of his own head.
"Hey, ready to head out," Babs asks, frowning when she takes in his expression. "...you okay?"
Dick breathes, trying to offer up a small smile. "Yeah...yeah, Babs, I'm fine."
ooooooo
"Are ghosts real?"
Zatanna looks up from her cards, giving him a weird look. "...Why?"
"I just thought you'd be the expert," Dick sidesteps the question, falling down next to her on the couch. "What can I say? I'm curious. Trying to learn more about magic and all."
She raises an eyebrow like she doesn't believe him. Which, Dick supposes, is fair.
"No….," she finally answers, "not in the traditional sense anyway. More like leftover energies rather than things with actual consciousness. Every now and then, one will get a bit of a boost from a leftover artifact or a spell but that's pretty much it." Zee shrugs. "But, hey, I'm not exactly an expert on the afterlife. Want the best answer? Get Lilith to try to contact Boston."
He nods, taking that all in. "...what about demons?"
Zatanna stares at him even harder. "Dick, what is this about?"
Dick glances around the Tower common room.
It's late afternoon, slow and quiet in the way that means most of the team has either gone off to find something more interesting or are keeping to themselves. Still, being alone doesn't exactly mean the same thing when you have teammates that can hear through walls.
Dick turns back to Zatanna, making a small gesture with his hands the same way they do to signal in missions.
If anything, Zatanna looks more curious but she obliges, muttering "Elbbub fo Ycavirp" under her breath as the air around them suddenly becomes muted.
Dick meets her eyes. "...I think I'm being haunted."
She frowns. "What?"
"Or I'm going crazy," Dick winces. "Jury's still a bit out on which one but since all of Jade's scans came back fairly normal, I'm kind of leaning towards the first one. Which is why I came to you."
"Dick, slow down, and tell me exactly what's happening," Zatanna orders, eyes only half on him as she reaches for her tarot cards again.
"I don't much at all, Zee, that's the problem," Dick admits. "I don't even know if it's real. It started with this dream and then the hallucination after patrol. It was this wasteland, an apocalypse."
He pauses, remembering the tug of familiarity when he took in the scene. "...I'm pretty sure it was Earth….actually, I think it was the Tower or….or at least what used to be. There's this girl. Raven."
"A girl?" Zatanna shifts the cards in her hands and Dick catches a glimpse of one with a figure hooded in a dark black cloak. Death.
"I saw her again. At my college. I think she's trying to find me." Dick lets out a sigh. "Zee, I don't know what's happening. I don't know if this is magic or if I'm just going crazy...but, she told me something was coming. A demon named Trigon. That he was going to try to destroy the world. I need you to tell me what you think."
Zatanna sighs, picking up one last card. She flips it on the top of the deck, letting Dick see it.
The Hanged Man.
"I think that this means two things," she says carefully. "One, it means my tarot cards aren't broken. And two, it means we need to find this girl fast."
Dick closes his eyes, letting out as slow breath as he makes a plan that he hopes is the right one. The one Bruce would make.
"Zee, I need you to do me a favor."
He hears the weight in Zatanna's pause.
"You don't want to tell the team," she says, tone carefully blank.
"No, not yet," Dick says. "Tell Lilith, see what you two can find about Trigon. See if you can find her. But, do it separately from the team. According to Ganthet, Komand'r's ship is barely a few days out. We can't be fighting a threat on both sides. Not now. And right now, we need the manpower on the threat in front of us rather than the one in the shadows. We find Raven first...and then, we can worry about Trigon."
Zatanna doesn't answer.
"Zatanna, trust me."
"...Alright." She sighs. "You said the girl was trying to find you, right? Maybe Lilith and I can trace something back. At least, give here a beacon to look."
He lets out a breath. "Thanks, Zee."
Zatanna nods, distracted, pausing one more time before she speaks. "...Dick, there's something you need to understand about magic. Fate doesn't like working on anyone else's schedules."
"Well…," Dick offers a small smile, "maybe we can just bend it a little then."
Zatanna lets out a strained laugh. "Trust me, Dick, if we bend it too much, we'll be the ones to break."
ooooooo
Dick looks up at the sky.
Maybe he's biased but it seems like when everything goes spectacularly and catastrophically wrong it always seems to happen on perfectly normal sunny days.
Dick's half sure villains do this on purpose just to make him paranoid. He'll have Tim make a chart.
It's a bright summer afternoon when the Tower receives word that Komand'r's ship has reached the zeta shield and is requesting permission to zeta down.
Gar tilts his head at the monitor. "Can't we just like….say 'no'? That's an option here, right?"
Vic snorts. "Only if we want to risk the entire ship coming down anyway and causing a world wide panic."
Kory stands at the ready, watching the ship on the monitor with her mouth pressed into a hard line.
"They sent a transmission," Dick tells her, handing over the Tamaran script, "I couldn't translate all of it; but, I'm fairly sure it's addressed to you."
Kory takes it, scanning over the letter before pausing and reading it more closely.
"My sister is requesting a private meeting with me," Kory says, her voice held consciously neutral, "she is requesting a detente."
"Kory…," Donna steps forward, a hand coming to rest on Kory's shoulder and that uniquely Donna look of overwhelming support that Dick's always loved her for. "It's your sister, you know her better than any of us. What do you want us to do?"
Kory glances briefly over at Dick before her eyes settle back on the monitor and her expression firms.
"Let my sister come. I am ready."
ooooooo
Dick doesn't exactly know what he was expecting when it came to Komand'r.
He'd seen her face in the hologram, of course. Had heard about her from Kory's stories. But, photos and stories never quite prepare you for meeting someone in person.
The first time, he sees her, he thinks of a mirror. Similar to Kory herself yet somehow inherently opposite.
"Mel slexh," Komand'r says, sweeping into the Tower meeting room, "Telil lelntxhln giln til li."
Dick only catches about half of that, barely able to translate "my sister" and "too long" before Kory is reaching out with a hand to stop her sister before she can take more than a step into the room.
"We are on Earth, Komand'r," Kory says, gripping her sister's shoulder tightly in a way Dick bets is only half to transfer the language, "we will speak an Earth language while in the company of others."
Komand'r stops, raising an eyebrow as she sees Dick still standing in the corner. "I thought I requested a private meeting, Koriand'r."
"You did." Kory steps away calmly. "But, I do not trust you and so I refused."
Komand'r's face falls into a frown before she sighs, low and resigned.
"I suppose that is fair, dear sister. I am the first to admit I have given you little reason to trust me in the past."
Kory rolls her eyes, sitting on the opposite side of the table. "Why are you here, Komand'r?"
"To see that you are safe," Komand'r answers, sitting. "And to offer apology and explanation. I know you do not believe me; but, I was beyond pleased to discover you were hiding here on Earth."
"I was not hiding," Kory corrects. "I have not been hiding, not in many years."
Komand'r bows her head. "Then, I am happy for you. I know the last time I saw you I was not myself from the experiments of the Psions. I am truly joyed that you survived and have found peace here."
"You tried to kill me," Kory cuts in shortly. "I believe 'not yourself' is a bit too gentle of a euphemism. You attacked me and abandoned me to die."
"I was not myself," Komand'r repeats. "The experiments drove me nearly out of my mind. Surely, you can remember?"
"I do," Kory confirms. "I remember everything they did to us. And yet, it would take far more than that for me to ever betray my family."
Komand'r holds her mouth tightly. "You have always been strong, mel slexh. Ever since we were children. I admired you for that, just as I do now."
"Admired?" Kory raises an eyebrow. "You blamed me for things I could never control. That I never asked for. That is not admiration, sister, that is envy."
"Yes, I will admit to that, too." She nods. "You are correct. I was born weak and I hated you, hated our people, for having the abilities barred for me. I was a child and a foolish one. One who did not know true pain so I constructed my own."
Komand'r meets her sister's eyes. "You do not believe me, sister, and that is your right. I know I would make the same choice in your position. But, I came to give you an explanation. You know how I was born, Koriand'r. I did not have the same resistance that you and the rest of our people have. When the Psions' experimented on us, I was half mad and dealing with powers I had never before had a glimpse of. I had no control. I barely could remember who I was yet alone remember you. When my old troops came to save us, I would have attacked anyone, anything, if it meant I would be free. I am sorry that you were the one in the crossfire."
Kory doesn't back down. "Not as sorry as I was, Komand'r. To find I had trusted someone I should not have."
Komand'r frowns, tone going colder. "I will admit, I had hoped that of anyone, you would understand.
Kory's face remains carefully blank.
"You said you have come to apologize, Komand'r. If that is all, then you have done it and you may leave."
"I also wanted to extend an invitation," Komand'r says, voice clipped. "From myself and our brother, Ryand'r, to return home with me and reclaim your title. You do not have to stay on Tamaran, sister. Not if you do not wish. We understand the throne has asked too much of you already. However, we thought you might at least respect our parents enough to want to pay honor at their graves."
Kory tilts her head, for the first time, a hint of confusion showing on her face. "Ryand'r? I heard you had taken his throne. I believed he was in exile."
"I did not take anything." Komand'r says, glaring for the first time. "After our parents' deaths, we feared a return of the Citadel so Ryand'r willingly abdicated the throne and it returned back to me."
"You may think the worst of me, Koriand'r; but, I do hold the throne legally despite the unfortunate weakness of my birth." Komand'r sighs, looking down at her hand as it glows slightly black. "I suppose I do have the Psions to thank for at least that. At least, their experiments gave me a body strong enough that I could finally reach my potential."
Komand'r stands again. "I know you do not wish to speak to me so I will not take up more of your time. I have given my apology and extended mine and Ryand'r's offer. My ship will stay here for at least a month's time while you consider your decision. If you chose not to return, then I am sure the Green Lanterns will not allow my ship access through again and thus, I imagine this is the last time you will see anyone from your home world. Please, consider your choice carefully, dear sister."
Komand'r turns to the door, stopping briefly to throw Kory one last glance. "Koriand'r, you are my sister and I truly am happy to see you alive. I do not ask for forgiveness or understanding. All I ask is for you to believe me."
ooooooo
A/N:
Translations:
Tamaran
Telil lelntxhln giln til li: It has been too long
Mel klexh: my heart
Mel slexh: my sister
French
Tes yeux, j'en rêve jour et nuit. : Your eyes, I dream about day and night
Ouais. : Yeah
Russian
Ты мой рай, ты моё небо, ты моё солнце. : You are my paradise, you are my sky, you are my sun.
Portugesse:
Você me faz querer ser uma pessoa melhor. : You make me want to be a better person
Vlax Romani
Shukar: Beautiful
*Yes, Dick is being purposefully overly romantic in his phrase choices because he's a dork
Again, guys, I'm bad at languages. Please, I'm begging you, correct me if I'm wrong with any of these.
Sorry for the delay for this chapter, I got caught up in my midterms month plus a few issues that I needed to fix with this chapter before posting it. Good news, in working out those issues, the next chapter already has a good bit of work done so should be posted roughly within the next two weeks.
Also, keep an eye out. On Sunday or Monday, I'm planning to post a short story that takes place in this universe.
Thanks to everyone for their continual support! You guys are the best!