The way back to the Tower is quiet, eerily like pins and needles pressing harder with every second that passes in stillness.
Dick takes Billy back to one of the rarely used meeting rooms and waits, taking his time to just observe the teenager he knows he watched die seven years ago.
In fairness, Billy doesn't look that much better than near dead. His clothes are baggy and ratty, a hoodie that at one point could claim to be red worn thin to holes along the elbows and shoulders. There's a sense of dirt ingrained around him, from the stains on his clothes to the black hair hanging limply and overgrown around a face that's too thin.
What strikes Dick most is the eyes.
Billy looks tired.
He looks tired in a way Dick can recognize clearly, a deeper kind of exhaustion that has nothing to do with sleep and sinks through the skin to weigh down the very bones underneath.
Billy's eyes finally lift off the floor, finally meeting Dick's and a sharp apprehension muddles through the tiredness.
And part of Dick-it's a mean part, cruel even, selfish, so, so selfish and Dick hates it even if he can't stop it clenching under his ribs-part of him wants to scream at the teenager. To yell and rage and ask why. Why didn't Billy come back? Why wasn't he here seven years ago? Doesn't he know how much better it would've been, doesn't he know how much easier the Titans would have had it, that Dick would've had it if he knew even one member of the League survived. To know that someone else was there, someone left from the original League.
Dick swallows it down with a force he's mostly gotten used to now.
Because Dick may have been only thirteen; but, Billy was still just a ten year old boy. And if time and younger brothers have taught Dick anything it's that no child should have to rebuild their world.
So, instead he tucks it down and says this instead. "It's good to see you, Billy."
The fear in Billy's eyes eases into cautious hope and Dick knows he's made the right choice.
"Yeah," Billy coughs into his hand, lips quivering up into an almost smile, far dimmer than Dick remembers. "...it's good to see you, too, Robin. I….I missed this place."
"Bit different than the Watchtower or the League Headquarters, isn't it," Dick asks, looking up at the Tower.
"Not that different," Billy says quietly. "Not in the ways that matter." He glances at Dick. "How did you know that I was, um, me or, well, him?"
"Batman," Dick answers succinctly.
"Oh….," Billy's eyes widen. "Yeah, I guess that would-wait, did Batman always know?"
"He was thorough." Dick leans back on his heel, watching the teenager. "Billy, what happened to you? I saw the footage. I saw you get hit. How are you alive?"
Billy looks down again. "When the ray hit me, Captain Marvel's the one that absorbed it. It was too much damage at one time, even for the magic, I couldn't hold the transformation and I….I fell." He shrugged. "I don't really remember much after that. I think I must have hit my head because I was unconscious for a while, then I woke up and I was me and those….the machines were still all over the sky and I….I…."
"You tried to transform," Dick guesses.
Billy shudders and goes white.
"...no," Billy says, the word quiet and fragile. "No, I didn't….I didn't' try to transform." His eyes flicker quickly up to meet Dick's. "I….I hid."
Dick watches as the teenager's breath quickens, eyes getting wetter before Billy roughly wipes it away. "I...I didn't do anything, Robin. There were the machines and they were everywhere and I kept….I kept thinking about the ray and how much, how much it hurt and everything was so loud and there was screaming and I should've…...but I couldn't…..I couldn't be him….so I….I hid behind some boxes where the machines couldn't see me."
"I'm sorry." Billy takes another shuddering breath, hiding his eyes in his hands, "everyone needed me and I didn't-"
Dick lays his hands on his shoulders, surprised to find Billy only a couple inches shorter. "Billy, you survived. That's what matters."
"That's not-I couldn't be a hero, Robin!" Billy's chest hitches in a sob. "The Wizard gave me all these powers so I could keep people safe; but, I couldn't! I was too-too scared and I hid instead of protecting anyone."
"Billy," Dick says, "sometimes we can't protect everyone. That's just how it goes."
"But, we always try," Billy whispers back fiercely. "I was in the League, I remember how it works. It doesn't matter how dark it gets, how scared we are, we always try and I…."
Billy cuts himself off, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.
When he next speaks, his voice is more steady.
"And then the machines fell out of the sky and the Invasion was over," he says before pausing. "I didn't really know what to do at first. Everyone was saying the League was gone and my comm got fried by the ray so I didn't know if anyone was even still alive. I went to find Uncle Dudley….," Billy trails off, blue eyes going dull. "Anyway, I didn't know what I could do until a few months later when I saw the news reports that you started patrolling Gotham again."
Billy looks down at his shoes. "I meant to go find you. I really, really did; but, I tried to transform and…."
Dick waits.
"I couldn't," Billy admits.
Dick frowns. "What do you mean 'couldn't'?"
Billy takes a breath. "SHAZAM!"
Nothing happens, not even a spark of errant lightning and Dick's eyes widen even as Billy looks back sadly.
"I'm not Captain Marvel anymore," Billy says in the silence. "I haven't been since the Invasion. The Wizard said the magic would only work for someone pure of heart. I'm not worthy. I can't be."
ooooooo
"Um, Dick," Donna asks skeptically, looking at the monitor, "is now really the time to be looking into another adoption?"
Dick shakes his head. "I'm not adopting him."
"Really? Because he has the look," she ticks off points on her fingers, "Black hair, blue eyes. Let me guess he's a tragic orphan, too?"
"Donna," Dick says seriously, pointing at the screen, "that's Captain Marvel."
Her eyes widen, leaning in to stare more pointedly at the screen. "That's Captain Marvel. Rob, unless I'm going crazy, Captain Marvel's supposed to be a few decades older and, well, dead."
Dick sighs. "Billy Batson's the Champion of magic, Captain Marvel is just the name that he went by when he was transformed."
"Well, that's….," she pauses, "the League had a ten year old on the team!"
"Not that most of them knew," Dick says, decidedly not mentioning that he was halfway inducted when he was nine.
Donna leans back, thinking through her next words.
"This is great, though, isn't it?" Donna points to the screen. "We've got a major magic problem and, then, the supposed Champion of magic shows up. What's the chance we can point him, Zatanna, Lilith, Tula, and maybe even Raven at the Trigon seal problem and call it a day?"
"He can't transform," Dick says, "He says the magic's deemed him unworthy to access it ever since the Invasion."
Donna lets that process for all of a second. "Fuck!"
Dick grimaces in agreement.
Donna massages her temples. "Dick, I hate magic. I've tried; but, I'm with Bart. We've got a world ending interdimensional being, a witch girl we don't know how to deal with, a sorry excuse of a British magician that won't get off his ass, a stupid helmet that we can't use without basically sacrificing someone, and, now, the supposed Champion of Magic only the magic's being too pissy to let him use it. I miss the simple problems where all we had to worry about aliens killing us all."
"If it makes you feel better, we still have Komand'r on that front," Dick says dryly.
"Oh, yes, so much better. Thanks, Rob."
They both stand in silence for a moment, eyes drawn to the monitor.
"What are you thinking," Donna asks quietly, "I know that face, that's an idea face."
"I want to keep Billy at the Tower with Raven," Dick says.
"Alright. Why?"
He sighs. "Partly, because unless I've gotten terrible at reading people, he's homeless and doesn't have anywhere to go. And, second," he shakes his head, "you're right, this doesn't make any sense. From everything Zatanna and Lilith keep saying, magic has to have some kind of logic, a balance." His mouth twists down in a grimace. "It's….it's conscious for lack of a better word. It has plans. Raven and Zatanna both said it wanted me, Lilith said it wanted Constantine, too. And, now, when Constantine kicked me out, I ended up right by Billy. That can't be coincidence. And that means….that means the magic must want Billy, too."
"Even though it declared him unworthy," Donna asks.
"...I don't think it did," he admits. "I think….I think it's a mental block. Guilt. Billy doesn't think he's worthy anymore so….the magic's listening to him."
Donna hums. "Have you told him that?"
"How much good do you think it would do to tell a kid who already feels guilty for not doing enough that the reason he can't transform is all on him," Dick asks. "No, I'll tell Lilith and Zatanna I brought him here because he may have some kind of connection to the magic left, see what they can find. Until then, we'll keep him with Raven and hope for the best. Who knows? Maybe being here in the Tower will help somehow. At least it's better than being out on the street."
Donna looks at him for another second before nodding.
"And now we find out what's up with Komand'r, right," she asks.
Dick smiles. "Whoever believed in easy lives?"
ooooooo
Tim's finger taps at the side of his tablet. "But, what about the switch from zero gravity to artificial?"
"Accounted for and double checked with the thrusters," Vic answers.
Tim hums. "Even when it shrinks after-"
"Yes, Tim," Karen says, shaking her head fondly, "even when it shrinks once it phases through the ship wall."
"But, the electro-impulse when it switches-"
Virgil snorts. "Was one of the first things I made sure to suppress."
"Because when it phases, it's going to swap frequencies and that-"
"Yeah, yeah, ten thousand and one million billion ways it could all go terribly, super, stupendously wrong." Bart grins, gripping Tim's arm and all but prying the tablet away from the teen genius' fingers. "Which is what'll make it even more crash when it all works amazingly! It's ready, Tim!"
Tim sighs, releasing a breath and steadying his shoulders before turning to Dick. "We're ready."
"Didn't doubt it for a sec," Dick says before smiling at the pleased but exhausted looks on the science team's faces. "Good job, Team Alpha. Now, let's see what Komand'r is hiding."
Donna and Garth are behind Dick, stationed at either of his sides.
Kory stands at the front, eyes drawn tightly to the monitor.
Dick nods at Vic. "Get it up in the air."
The device, barely the size of a quarter and filled with enough wiring to make a super computer jealous, lifts up in front of them before zooming out of the Tower with the kind of speed that says Bart's definitely been working on it.
It's a few seconds later before Vic makes the first announcement. "Coming up on the zeta shield."
Dick glances over at Tim to see he's wrestled his tablet back from Bart.
"Clear of the shield," Vic reports. "We're in open space now, looks like it made it through without frying any of the circuts."
Virgil lets out a puff of breath, smiling up at Karen.
"Thrusters still at max capacity," Vic says and Dick can hear the hint of smugness still leaking through his tone.
"Good work," Garth mumbles, voice low as if speaking too loud will break the concentration.
"We've still got to make it through the ship walls," Tim says, brow furrowing, "and not let it get picked up by security."
"Pft, please, they won't even see us coming," Bart assures happily.
"Landing on the hull of the ship now," Vic says, tone regaining his tension. "Attempting to phase through on three. One."
Vic's finger holds above the controls.
"Two."
The entire room holds its breath.
"Three."
Vic hits the control.
A moment held in stillness as the room waits.
Vic lets out a shuddering breath. "We're through. It phased through the hull without altering the circuits. Turning on the camera."
At Tim's side, Bart does an aborted little victory dance.
The camera turns on and suddenly the monitors are filled with a red tinted hallway, metal curving and twisting in a way that speaks of alien engineering rather than anything human.
"No obvious alerts yet," Donna observes. "You think we really made it?"
"We'll have to wait and see," Dick says before turning to Kory. "Any idea on where we should look first?"
Kory pausing. "It is an ambassador ship, a defensive type structure. The energy core should be towards the center along with the security mainframe. If anything, it might have a monitoring system."
"That'll at least tell us if they know we're here," Tim says, rolling his shoulders a bit in relief. "If the phasing worked for the outer hull, it should'n be a problem to use it again."
He looks at Bart for confirmation, who shrugs. "Sure, the real problem is making sure nobody sees it now. That would totally suck after we made it this far."
Dick nods, going back to Vic. "Guide it towards the center; but, watch for people."
"Got it," Vic answers and, on the screen, the camera moves again, heading straight for a wall before there's a slight glitch almost like an electrical blink and there's another hallway.
The next few minutes pass by with a muted sort of tension as they watch in semi-silence as the device steers it's way deeper and deeper into the ship, only stopping when a few Tamarans walk through in clothes of deep purple and black.
Kory's mouth presses firmly as she watches them and Dick looks over.
"They are wearing the colors of my sister's rebellion forces," Kory says quietly before frowning. "That is very strange."
"How so," Dick asks.
"My sister is the Queen," Kory answers. "I find it odd she has not moved from the rebellion clothing to the official colors of the royal family."
"Maybe it's sentimental," he says. "An acknowledgement that they aided her when she needed it?"
Kory shakes her head. "That is what is most strange. My sister has never cared for sentiment or acknowledgement to others, she cares about power and her name. It would be just like Komand'r to have her troops trade to the royal colors of Tamaran. For her, it would be a sign of victory. A way that everyone could know she won."
Dick frowns with her.
"Guys, I think we're at the mainframe," Vic says, pulling the attention back to the monitor.
In front of them, the device shows an army of circuits, electricity arcing between them in a way that has to have an order but that Dick can't quite figure out. At the forefront is a simple sphere, much the same as the one Ganthet brought Dick earlier.
"Go to the storage center," Kory instructs, pointing to the sphere on screen.
The device moves closer until it lands on the center of the sphere and, suddenly, there's another glitch and the screen shifts to a series of moving symbols that Dick can only vaguely recognize, never mind translate fast enough to read.
"It is reporting the energy readouts," Kory says, breathing a sigh of relief. "That is good, it means it has recognized the device's presence."
"Ah, yeah, that's great and all; but, how do we get it to stop," Vic says, pushing the controls over to Virgil. "Our energy readings are going crazy."
Kory frowns. "The ship is directing an unusual amount of power to the left stern."
"Shit," Vigil curses, "the weird alien sphere thing is trying to integrate with our device, it's too much for me to redirect. It's frying us!"
"How much time do we have," Dick asks quickly.
Virgil swears again. "Maybe a minute?"
"Pull up the monitor for the stern," Kory orders.
Virgil's eyes widen. "How?!"
Kory takes the tablet, hand flying across the tablet in a series of gestures that Dick can't recognize and the device tilts on screen before the monitor blinks and….
The picture changes, an image of a Tamaran man with ragged hair and chained hands appearing on the monitor for all of five seconds before there's a hiss and the screen goes black.
Virgil sighs. "It's fried. That was the last of it."
"It had a good little life," Bart says, patting Virgil's shoulder in support.
Kory's eyes are still frozen on the black monitor.
"Kory," Donna comes to stand beside her. "Who was that? Do you know him?"
"Yes….," Kory swallows and her eyes move to find Dick's.
"That was my brother Ryand'r," she says.
ooooooo
"Can I…..is it," Raven sighs, her cloak pulled closer around her half like a blanket and half like a living shadow, "is it really alright that I'm here?"
"For the meeting?" Dick shrugs. "Sure, I don't see why not."
Raven frowns, another one of those complicated expressions flickering across her face that seem to have only grown more common since she came to the Tower. Dick doesn't understand them and, honestly, that worries him far more than a strange teenage girl attending an emergency team meeting.
In the past week since the seance, something's changed with Raven and he's not sure what. She's sticking closer to him now, within his sight practically every second he's at the Tower and….and sometimes, Dick swears even when he's outside of the Tower. When he's on patrol in Gotham, a few times even when he's at the manor, the shadows move strangely….almost like they're watching him.
Dick stamps down on the chill running down his spine.
On the bright side, it looks like Raven's getting along well with Billy. Well, really, it's hard not to get along with Billy-most of the time, he's still the bright, sunny kid Dick remembers even now when there's too many moments scattered in between when he gets quiet and too still.
He's gravitated to Raven the most. Dick isn't quite sure why; but, if he had to guess it's probably a mix of Raven being the only non-hero at the Tower and the fact that Raven looks far too lost. Billy can say what he wants; there's some parts of a hero that never change. The constant need to reach out to people hurting is one of them.
Billy still hasn't mentioned Captain Marvel to anyone else. Even as most of the Titans are still giving him curious looks before looking at Dick as if asking why there's a new teenager in the Tower.
Dick likes to believe he understands Billy at least to an extent, remembers what it feels like to call yourself a name that you don't believe fits anymore.
Still….
Dick's trying to trust the magic or, in the far too often times that fails, trust that Lilith and Zatanna can understand the magic far better than he ever will. It's just if the magic supposedly needs him so much, he wishes it could give him some kind of hint.
In a way, it's a relief to be looking at something concrete like alien ships and prisoners.
He turns to the team. "As most of you have already heard, our surveillance onto Komand'r's ship found she was keeping a prisoner."
He taps his tablet and the frozen image of the man in chains pulls up on screen.
Next to him, he can see Kory's eyes move into something sharper.
"My brother, Ryand'r" she announces to the room. "After I was given to the Citadel, Ryand'r took my place as heir to the throne and Crown Prince of Tamaran."
"Why not Komand'r," Jade asks, hands templed in front of her and looking at the picture in an easy, relaxed way that always means she's getting ready to be at her most dangerous.
"Komand'r was born with a birth defect," Kory explains. "Nothing too severe; but, it limited her from using our people's powers. With Tamaran's ongoing war with the Citadel, she was declared ineligible for succession while we were still children." She looks back at the screen. "The only way she is Queen now is that Ryand'r abdicated the throne to her."
"Or did he," Garth says, drawing the eyes of the room. "It makes sense. If he doesn't abdicate, she can't be Queen. She needs him alive. Maybe that's why she's keeping him prisoner."
"Why come to Earth, then," Raquel asks. "If she's already trying to deal with one rightful heir, why come here for Kory and have two?"
No one has an answer and the team falls briefly into contemplative silence.
"I do not understand why she is keeping him alive," Kory says in the quiet. She's frowning. "My sister is not the sentimental type. I have never believed her to hold any love for family even despite her words here. The fact that she kept him alive….," Kory sighs, "maybe I am wrong, maybe she does care for her siblings-at the very least, enough not to murder our youngest brother in cold blood. That is….more than I expected. Yet, still she keeps him trapped." She looks up and holds the eyes of the room. "I have been a prisoner before. I believed I suffered so my people did not have to. I refuse to let my brother live the same."
"So, we need to plan a break out," Jade says, shifting to tap on the table with the edge of her knife. "I hope it goes without saying; but, even if we get in and out unscathed, there's no way we're keeping that hidden. Not when Komand'r realizes her prized prisoner has gone missing. There will be fallout."
"There was always going to be fallout," Dick counters grimly. "It's safe to assume now Komand'r didn't come to Earth for a simple talk between sisters. She was never going to leave easily."
Donna shifts on her feet, resting in something similar to a battle stance. "If Komand'r attacks, even a targeted attack rather than an invasion, that's going to draw attention. There's no way we keep that need-to-know like we did with the Reach. We're talking about the first public large scale interstitial sighting since the Invasion and it's going to be an attack. People are going to panic."
"I'll get in touch with the UN and try to set up some kind of response," Dick says. "The best tactic we can do is making sure it ends quickly and easily."
Here's what Dick doesn't say.
He doesn't say that Komand'r is the martial Queen of a planet previously embroiled in a century long conflict. She doesn't pick battles she thinks she'll lose. It won't be quick, it definitely won't be easy. They need to win anyway.
He doesn't say that the secondary problem is on an interplanetary nature and possibly far more devastating in the long run. Even if they've accepted Kara and Kory, Earth is still far too wary of interplanetary alliances. Having the next sighting be an attack could be nothing short of catastrophic for public sentiment. It means that even if they can make more galactic alliances-and they need alliances now that they're without the Green Lanterns-it doesn't mean the people of Earth will accept one. For the life of him, Dick can't figure out how the Light is trying to spin this.
Instead, he continues with the things he knows. "Jade, I want you to take point on the break out. Take your pick of who you want on the mission, focus on subtlety. The last place I want this fight to start is in the middle of Komand'r's own ship, surrounded by her troops."
Jade tilts her chin in consideration, flipping the knife up to twist in her hands.
"I need a team of five at least." she finally asks. "Can I get Barbara?"
Dick lets out a breath that's almost a smile. "I'll see if she's free from the Maroni case."
Jade nods.
Dick can see the start of a plan forming behind Jade's eyes and that's good, that's at least one thing he doesn't have to worry-
The door of the mission room burst open and everyone jumps, turning only to see Billy, breathing heavily and staring wildly around the room as if looking for something.
Dick stands. "Billy?"
Billy's eyes latch on to him, a hint of the wild edge bleeding away only to be replaced with confusion.
"What's wrong," Dick asks.
"I don't….," Billy blinks, starting to frown, "I thought something was….the magic was pushing and I…." And then, his eyes widen abruptly. "Raven!"
Dick turns, only to see Raven folding in on herself, shaking with her arms held over her head like she's trying to hold herself together even as her cloak twists around her.
Dick hits the ground beside her, a second before Zatanna.
"What's wrong with her," he asks, hands trying to catch her shoulders only for the shadows to hit him back like whips. "She was fine a few seconds ago!"
"I don't know!" Zatanna shouts back, hands already flying through the air in traces of light.
Raven shudders violently on the ground, eyes shut tight and teeth clenched hard enough to crack. Her body arches off the ground, letting out something between an aborted scream with a cough and blood hits the ground beside her.
"Zee, we need to do something," Dick says, trying to help as Jade uses her knife to try and cut through the shadows snapping whenever they get close. "It's killing her!"
"Working on it!" Zatanna swears, snapping her fingers together as the air around her lights up in an electric blue fog. "RAET TRAPA LLA SOAHC!"
The blue fog hits against the shadows with the force of lightning and a sound like an earthquake.
In the middle, Raven's eyes fly open to black, dark like a void, and she screams.
It's not a natural scream. It's something painful, sharp, like tearing skin and grounding bones. It's not human.
The room goes dark, black in a hush right before the windows shatter around them.
Dick hits the ground, only to hear the sound of bodies hitting around him. There are shadows, almost too dark to see through and Dick feels agony, tearing down his spine like he can't breathe and making it feel like his veins have filled with poison.
Around him, he can hear screaming and it's terrible, it's familiar, he can recognize his team. It's….
There's a hand on his shoulder and Dick fights through the pain to see Kory, gripping his shoulder even as her face is twisted in pain and how….how is she moving when everyone…. He levers himself up to try to reach her and he….
He sees it.
Something, dark, and other, inhuman by nature, outline unclear but dark like the very shadows themselves are trying to push it away.
Trigon.
There's a voice. Dick hears it even as he doesn't, like it's tearing through his mind even as he's sure no words have been spoken.
"Did you really think you could keep me out, daughter?"
And, then….
Between one blink and the next, the darkness is gone, fading away like shining light onto shadows and all that's left is broken windows and the team, still groaning and shaking on the floor.
Dick feels Kory's arm around his back and he leans into her for support.
He coughs, feeling the blood in his mouth even as his eyes center on Raven.
She's looking up at him, eyes wide and terrified and Dick….Dick knows.
"You're the seal," he says quietly.
ooooooo
"...so, your half, er, interdimensional demon," Billy asks, trying to sound casual.
Sitting in the middle of the med bay and looking small, Raven nods.
Gar makes an attempt at a shrug. "Had to make parent-teacher conferences rough."
She gives him a weak smile and it's not much; but, at least she looks less pale than she did a few hours ago so Dick will take what he can get.
"How is she," Lilith asks, her and Zatanna slipping in near silently at both of his sides as they watch the teens.
"Well her eyes haven't gone black yet and the Tower doesn't look like a scene from The Shining anymore so I'm taking it as a good sign." Dick pauses. "Gar and Billy have been here the entire time."
"They're worried about her," Zatanna says quietly.
"They are," Dick agrees. "Zee, I'm worried about her. Seal for a world ending chaos monster or not, that's a fourteen year old girl in there."
"I know." Zatanna massages her temples. "When I thought something was off about her, I didn't think it'd be this bad. I expected her to have accidentally gotten tied to chaos magic, not be half made of it. This is….," she sighs, "very, very, very bad. I've already tried to contact Constantine again."
"He refused," Dick guesses.
"Couldn't even find him," Zatanna says. "He's gone to ground. Lazy, unhelpful bastard."
"Tula's alerting Queen Mera," Lilith adds.
Dick nods. "Is there a way to remove the seal?"
"Not without breaking it," Zatanna answers. "It's tied to her, Dick, down to the very fabric of her soul. The only way to get rid of it without breaking it is…."
"Killing her," Lilith admits softly. "Cutting off the path before Trigon can get through."
Dick turns back to the med bay, watching through the observation window as a thin teenage girl sits, huddled down with a cloak wrapped around her.
"That's not going to happen," Dick says firmly. "We'll find another way."
Zatanna and Lilith stay silent.
"Look, this has an upside," he says. "Before we didn't even know what the seal was or if we could work with it. Now, we do. You said the magic was supposed to have a way, right? We have everything we need right here in front of us. Now, we just need to figure out what we can do with it."
"Only this time if we're wrong, it ends the world," Zatanna says,
Dick gives her a level look. "We've worked with those odds before."
Zatanna doesn't look away either.
"And they had costs," she finishes firmly before shaking her head.
When she speaks again her voice is lighter, even as she's gone back to rubbing at her temples. "Ugh, we need more help! Between this and the Komand'r thing, I wish superheroes had a temp service. Think we can put an ad in the paper? We're famous right? We'd get takers."
"Donna and I will take it under serious consideration," Dick teases.
"That's all I ask."
Dick's comm beeps.
Both Lilith and Zatanna look at it warily.
"If that's another possible apocalypse, I quit," Zatanna says flatly.
"It's probably not," Dick mutters, more in hope than anything. "It's just an alert from the Tower's monitoring system."
Dick pulls up the image.
Then, he stares.
"So, Zee," he says casually. "About that temp service…"
Zatanna leans in to look over his shoulder before her jaw drops.
"What's he doing here?!"
ooooooo
Dick leans on his heel, throwing back his arms and looking off the edge of the Tower roof to feel how his balance shifts in the wind.
"Alright, let's hear it," he says.
Slade smirks. "What do you mean, kid?"
Dick gives him a look. "Just get it out of your system. I'll even ask: Why are you here, Slade?"
Slade stays quiet. Long enough that Dick hops down off the edge and crosses his arms, waiting on the mercenary.
The silence reaches the two minute mark
"Slade," he says as dry as possible, "I don't know if you heard; but, I'm a bit busy right now. So, if you could hurry it up."
Slade gives him as dirty a look as possible that Dick doesn't believe for a second.
"I'm trying to be serious here, kid," Slade says, smirk falling away to something more sober.
Dick raises a brow.
Slade sighs. "This isn't easy to say, Dick. Especially not for someone like me. I've spent years, over a decade, fighting and killing. And for what?" He shrugs, the motion stilted. "Maybe once I even thought there was a cause behind it, a fucking point that I could spin into something besides blood. But, now…."
The mercenary looks away, staring out into the dying sun. The shadows sink into the edges of his face, a trick of light, making his eye seem old and haggard.
"You told me the world's ending and I keep thinking….," his hands clench on the sword, "I keep asking myself if the man I am today is really who I want to be when it all keeps tumbling down."
Finally his gaze moves back to Dick. "You've told me for years, kid, that I could be something better. That I could be a hero. And frankly? I still don't know if I believe you; but here I am."
"So, what do you say, kid," Slade holds up his sword, hilt extended out to Dick, "still think I can be a hero."
Dick takes one second, looking at the way Slade's face looks open and almost vulnerable as he waits for the answer.
Dick glares. "Slade, I told you I don't have time for this!"
Slade smirks, all traces of false vulnerability thrown out like wadded up paper. He laughs at Dick's glare, tsking as he does. "After all these years and when I finally come asking for the spandex, you don't even believe me! I'm devastated, kid! What if I was being sincere?"
"You wouldn't know sincerity unless you were hired to kill it," Dick deadpans.
"To be fair, might not even bother learning it then."
He rolls his eyes. "Slade. Why are you here?"
Slade rubs at his chin. "It's come to my consideration that there is a chance, small as it may be, that you could have conceivably had something resembling a reasonable argument last time we met."
Dick rolls his eyes. "Oh, really?"
"It's hard to get bonuses when everyone's dead."
"Including you."
Slade waves a hand. "Yeah, that, too."
"So, what?" Dick steps forward, chin tilting up to meet Slade's gaze. "You're here to help?"
"And even at a discounted rate," Slade says, smirk firmly in place. "Count yourself lucky, kid, might even consider this charity. Can't hurt for taxes."
He snorts. "You're serious?"
"As the end of the world." Slade sticks out his hand. "So, come on, kid. You trust me?"
In the end, Dick doesn't take long to come to an answer. A fact that, in and of itself, he should really find concerning.
He takes the mercenary's hand, gripping it hard enough that a normal human's bones would shift.
Slade grins back.
"Not for a second," Dick says flatly before fighting back a sigh.
His team's going to kill him.
ooooooo
"Are you insane?!"
Dick rubs at his temples. "Not yet; but, you might want to keep checking."
"It's Deathstroke," Donna yells. "You hired Deathstroke!"
"Well, it's not really 'hiring' if we don't pay him," he says reasonably. "It's more...volunteer work, maybe?"
Donna stares at him, mouth hanging open as if she's run out of words.
Jason scratches his neck, easily casual in the way that's more a warning than anything. "Didn't he blow up the Tower a few years ago?"
"I'd say that was more Terra, honestly," Dick answers.
"He shot Donna, right?"
He winces. "Yeah but, she's fine now. Right, Don'?"
Donna glares.
"So, what I'm hearing," Jason says slowly, "is that he definitely tried to kill all of you."
"Sure; but, to be fair, it wasn't his best work," he says.
Both Donna and Jason are looking at him with the kind of deep, deep judgement truly only achieved by little brothers and best friends.
Dick sighs. "Guys, if Slade really wanted us dead, he'd use a sniper and a telescopic lens. Not walk through the front door."
"That's really never as reassuring as you seem to think." Donna groans, looking pained as she meets Dick's eyes-staring him down as if willing him to understand. "Rob, I know you have a…..I-don't-even-know-what-to-call-it trust in the man; but, he's using us! Whatever this is, whatever he's planning, he's just going to end up turning on us when it suits his interests!"
Dick blinks and then, he laughs. "Of course, he is!"
"Dick, I'm serious!"
"So am I," Dick says, still laughing. "It's Slade! Of course, he's going to betray us, Don'! That's who he is! Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if he's already putting bugs in the Tower computers."
"And you're okay with that," Jason asks, incredulously.
"Of course, I am," he dismisses. "Tim's a way better hacker! We may even be able to backtrack them."
His grin fades off, looking at Donna and Jason seriously. "Guys, I think you're missing something here."
Jason crosses his arms, looking annoyed. "Which is?"
Dick smiles and it's not a nice one, more of a baring of teeth than anything.
"That we're using him, too," he says bluntly. "Slade's a mercenary-the only reason he's here is he thinks we're the option that benefits him most. And for us? We need allies. Say what you want; but, at least we know Slade's trained, he's dangerous, and-for now-he needs to follow the Titan's lead if he wants to survive this." The edge of his lip turns up. "For once, Slade needs us and, even better, we all know it."
Donna and Jason are staring at him again.
Finally, Donna sighs. "...If I snap and murder you one day, no one would blame me for it."
His sharp smile fades into an actual grin.
"I'd sign a document confirming it," he agrees.
Donna sighs again, longer and louder.
"Fine, fine," she throws up her hands, "another one of your crazy plans; but, I guess we're used to it! Sure, why not? Let the mercenary that tried to murder us stay at the Tower?! Seems fun! I'll just tell Gar to order another pizza! Say you think he'll be in for game night?"
"Can't hurt to ask," Dick says cheerfully.
Donna glares, pointedly turning and walking away before she can say anything else.
Jason turns to him. "I still think you're insane."
Dick laughs, throwing an arm around him and holding tighter when Jason tries to shove him off. "Yeah, but you always did."
ooooooo
Barbara is finishing the final check on her utility belt.
"You're hovering," she accuses, voice quiet enough not to carry.
"I'm inspecting," Dick denies. "I'm team leader, it's my job."
Barbara straightens, giving him a small smile as she comes to lean next to him.
"We'll be okay, Dick."
Dick doesn't sigh. "I know."
Barbara nods, eyes scanning over to where Jade, Roy, Jason, and Karen are doing their own final checks. "Jade knows what she's doing."
"I know," Dick says.
"We know the protocols. Even if something goes wrong, we've got exit strategies on exit strategies."
"I know."
"Really," she continues, "if you look at it that way, it's even safer than Gotham."
Maybe. But, in Gotham, at least Dick can be there with them.
He doesn't say it.
Barbara hears it anyway, he can see it in the way her smile goes softer.
"It never gets easy," she admits quietly. "Not even once. Believe me, I've watched enough Titans missions from Gotham to know. It never gets easy."
He frowns. "You could always join. Invitation's open."
"Nah, Gotham needs someone on call." She pauses. "Besides, I trust you to come home."
He actually does sigh this time, giving her a baleful look. "You don't fight fair, Barbara Gordon."
"Never have, never will."
The rest of the away team's finishing up, Jade at the front by the zeta beam. Babs shoots him a final smile. "See you soon!"
"You better," Dick mutters, nodding to Jade as she gives him a thumbs up for mission start.
There's a bright flash of light and then, they're gone-Dick and Tim still standing by the zeta beam while Kory watches at the monitor.
Dick comes to stand beside her.
"How long," she asks even though Dick knows she's read the mission outline even more than he has.
"If all goes well, they should be ready to zeta out in under ten minutes."
Kory nods, eyes still fixed on the monitor and mouth held in a hard line.
"I should be there," she whispers, only loud enough for Dick to hear.
Dick holds his hand down, back of his fingers just brushing along hers, giving her the option. A second later, a warm hand meets his, fingers lacing together in a tight hold.
"I know," he says simply.
But, she's not. For nearly the same reason Dick's not. A small covert rescue mission on a hostile alien spaceship is dangerous enough. Sending Kory in to operate directly in Komand'r's line of sight is even more so. And as for Dick….they need him on the ground if something goes wrong.
Dick's never particularly liked being part of a contingency.
And he's never liked staying still.
Tim hums, hands never leaving the zeta programming. "Karen knows the zeta programming almost as well as me. As soon as she sends the signal, we can lock on their location and zeta them back. And, then, well…."
"We need to deal with Komand'r," Dick finishes.
"...Yeah," Tim hesitates, "and, um, exactly how are we dealing with Komand'r."
Dick looks to Kory; but, her eyes are still tied to the monitor, face unyielding and giving away nothing of what she's thinking. At least not anything Dick can read.
He shifts on his feet, ignoring the way his hands reflexively tightens before he can stop it.
"I guess that depends on what we find out from Ryand'r," he answers.
"We will do what we must," Kory says, voice firm as she moves her hand out of Dick's to cross her arms. "Komand'r will not win this battle, I will make sure of it."
Dick spine stiffens on reflex and he takes a second to wonder why.
By the zeta beam, Tim's expression still looks complicated-the not quite blank face that Dick knows comes when he doesn't want to show what he's thinking but hasn't yet decided what alternative expression would be best.
He smiles at his little brother. "You know, Timmy, the Titans have gotten pretty good at the whole alien invasion thing. We're two for two."
Tim lightens enough to roll his eyes. "What about apocalyptic magic invasions, too?"
"Well, it never hurts to learn a new skill." He comes to stand beside Tim. "Think about it like resume building?"
Tim snorts before he can help himself, glaring in betrayal up at Dick. "Do you mind? I'm trying to brood here?"
"I know; it was embarrassing." Dick flicks Tim's head. "Take it from someone raised by Batman, leave brooding to the professionals."
Tim huffs, a small smile tucked in under the exasperation until it fades away too quickly. His eyes are still fixed rigidly on the screen.
Dick leans in beside him, ostensibly checking the monitor but close enough that his words don't carry.
"You don't need to worry about them," he tells his youngest brother. "They know what they're doing. Even Jason. Especially Jason."
"As if I'd worry about Jason," Tim mumbles back, face pinched.
Dick nods. "We can't help worrying, Tim. It's human. But, worry makes us slow. Plan instead."
Tim glances up in surprise before nodding back as his shoulders relax almost imperceptibly.
Dick rocks back on his heels, moving back from the monitor. He returns to a normal, conversational volume. "The spy device was well made. Think we can adapt it as a bug?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, definitely," Tim answers, allowing himself to be distracted. "I was already talking about it with Virgil and Bart. We're trying to find a way to give it better electrical resistance….and maybe some cloaking."
Dick rubs his chin. "Not every day, we get an infiltration device that can phase through walls."
Tim raises an eyebrow. "Think we can get it through to Penguin's lounge?"
He sighs. "It has been so annoying that Gotham's criminals have swapped from air ducts. No place for hard working vigilantes like us to slip through."
"I suppose they had to wise up eventually," Tim says.
Dick smiles, motioning Tim to pull up the new designs and talking them over like both of them can't feel the seconds ticking away in the background, creeping closer and closer with the volatile mix of anticipation and fear.
Kory still stays behind them, hovering in the background with an expression that suggests deep thoughts not to be interrupted. Dick feels it like a buzz on his nerves without quite knowing how to categorize it.
At nine minutes and fifty-two seconds into the mission, the zeta monitor beeps vivid red with an incoming signal. Tim's hands fly to the keyboard, locking onto the range and initiating the transference.
The zeta beam burns bright blue and Dick can feel his heartbeat drumming to the beat of the pulse as he sees shapes forming under the light.
Dick doesn't relax until he can count six, one held up tightly between the two.
"Mel frexh!"
And, then, Kory's rushing forward to the carried figure before the blue light even fades away to reveal orange skin and familiar green eyes.
"Mel slexh?" the injured man rasps out, eyes wide as Jason and Roy transfer him to Kory.
Kory's arms move to support his weight even as one hand moves to frame his face. "Oh, Mel frexh….Mel jlexhn yeliln, pelil elu giln lia flexh kixhl?"
"Koriand'r?" His hand moves to cover hers and Dick feels more than sees the languages being absorbed.
"I am here," she answers. "You are safe, my brother."
"...No." Ryand'r shakes his head suddenly, weak hands grasping at Kory's. "No, sister, we are not. Komand'r…."
The room silences, focusing on Ryand'r's next words.
"She has come to kill you," he breathes out, "you are our heir to the throne."
ooooooo
"I didn't expect to find you to be here."
"No?" Kory questions, not looking away from the targets in the training room where she's purposefully lining up her starbolts to blow small precise holes through.
"I thought you'd be with your brother," Dick admits.
"Jade is looking over him," Kory answers. "There is nothing I can do for Ryand'r by hovering in the med bay and he does not wish me to either. We would both rather I be here, preparing."
Dick nods, fighting that way his nerves tilt at edge just like they've been doing all day.
"I'm still….," he sighs, "I'm still a bit confused on why Komand'r kept Ryand'r alive if she wants you dead."
"It is how the Tamaran succession works," Kory answers, voice carefully expressionless. "When….when I was traded off for my planet's peace, I assumed my parents had removed me as the heir and replaced me with Ryand'r. It is possible they planned to, perhaps they believed they had more time, or maybe," she frowns, "maybe they believed I would find a way to come back, even as I was forbidden from it. Perhaps they believed I would be selfish." She pauses briefly and when she next speaks, the regret is eased away. "Either way, I kept my promise and they died before they could pass the order to Ryand'r. Komand'r was never in the order of succession, not since birth. The only way she can truly become Queen is an edict from the current monarch."
"You," Dick says, nodding in understanding.
"If she kills me, the crown will fall to Ryand'r," Kory agrees. "Only now….now I still live and she has lost our brother as a prisoner." She focuses again on the targets. "Komand'r will not let this go unanswered. She will attack, it is her only choice to rule."
In front of her, the target blows apart. Then, the next five as she moves on, one right after the other.
The buzz on his nerves gets worse as Dick shifts on his feet.
"Careful," he observes, "that much power on a person is fatal."
Kory doesn't say anything.
"Kory," he says softly, "don't let your sister turn you into something you're not."
Kory closes her eyes, taking in a deep breath before slowly letting it go.
"I will not," she answers. "Komand'r will never have that power over me. I know that now. No one does."
Kory….Kory is the strongest person Dick knows.
And maybe it was inevitable? Like the pull of gravity or the power behind the sun. Or like a force even stronger, pulling two sides-two people-together. Maybe Dick would always have fallen in love with her.
The words stick in Dick's throat like they always do so instead, he smiles. "I'm glad."
Kory is still looking at the targets.
"Tamaran is a peaceful planet," she says carefully, gentle in a way like every word has been considered before being aired. "We believe love is the strongest force there is. Not anger, certainly not violence…."
"I think that's how it should be," he agrees. "There's enough violence in the world; it never helps to add more."
"You did not let me finish," Kory says, voice growing more firm. "Tamaran is a peaceful planet that was at war for over a century against a race that wanted us destroyed. We did not go quietly, we were not peaceful. We fought and we killed so that we could live on. I was raised to protect my people, Dick. But, I was not trained in non-violence. I was trained as a warrior."
"I know," he says because he does and he doesn't yet know what more to offer.
Kory looks down at her hands, open and steady instead of clenched. "When my people gave me over to the Citadel. When the Citadel traded me to the Psions. When the Psions tortured and experimented on me in ways I do not wish for you to imagine. If I had the chance to escape a moment earlier-even if it meant killing one, killing many of my torturers-I would have taken it. Tell me, Dick, does even that thought alone make me a killer? Just the same as the monsters you fight in Gotham?"
"No." Dick's answer is immediate, not needing consideration. Because he knows monsters. He's seen them in the tilt of Scarecrow's smile, in the coldness in Two Face's eyes, in the madness that echoed in the Joker's laugh that he could still hear even years after the man's death.
"No, Kory," he says again. "That doesn't make you a monster, it just makes you human."
Kory offers a sad smile. "But, you would not make the same choice. If it had been you they tortured, if you had been faced with the opportunity, you would not have taken it, would you? Not if someone had to die."
Dick hesitates, long enough that Kory has her answer.
She turns from the targets, her hand raising to cup his cheek.
"We are different, mel klexh. I cannot believe in a morality that would value the life of a torturer over yours or mine," she says. "If I am faced with the choice, I will always choose to protect those that I love."
"It's not that simple," Dick sighs. "Kory, it can't be viewed by a single situation. There will always be that one situation we believe justifies murder. The problem is...where does it stop? What happens when the number of situations keep growing, keeps expanding until one day….until one day, someone thinks we're the situation that needs to be stopped."
Kory's already shaking her head. "You do not give either of us enough credit."
"Isn't it better not to have to know?"
"But maybe not practical," Kory says. "In my training, I was taught that if you do not handle a threat the first time then the second time….the third time….they all partially rest on your shoulders."
"And what if there's not next times," Dick argues back. "Death is the end of change, Kory. Even...even if we believe change can never happen. Who are we to be the judges?"
"Who are we to not be," she asks right back. "Who are we not to judge and instead forsake the responsibility off to a helpless world?" Her lips press together. "And beyond that, who are we to choose the lives of murderers over their victims?"
"It's not that simple," he repeats, certain with words plain and unadorned
"No, it is not," Kory agrees. "But neither is your path."
Dick hesitates, his next breath coming staggered and hesitant.
"...I always believed that was our path," he says.
Kory's hand still cups his cheek. "Elu lilhmon mwiln."
"What does that mean, Kory?"
"It means 'I love you'," she says quietly, the air of her voice echoing over his ears. "And I do, mel klexh, always believe I do."
His heart thumps out of rhythm. "Kory, I-"
"Shh," she interrupts him, finger moving to rest over his lips. "I love you; but, I cannot change into something I am not. Not for anyone. Even for my heart."
She pulls back and Dick feels it like the warmth leaving the air.
"If Komand'r lives, she will not stop," Kory says simply. "Never, not as long as she has power. She will attack Earth. She will kill my brother. Kill me. Kill us. Destroy my entire planet if she finds it most suits her needs. I know only one way to stop her. I do not wish it, I do not want it. Despite everything, she is still my family. Yet, I do not see another way." She pauses. "And, above everything, I am a warrior. This I cannot change. Nor do I want to."
Kory's eyes do not harden for that is not who she is.
Instead, they glow.
She regards him. "I love you and I cherish you. These things will never change for me no matter if we disagree, no matter what choices you have to make. I hope you believe the same for me."
Then, she nods, leaving the room and taking the breath out of Dick's lungs as she does.
And Dick….has nothing to say.
He has nothing to do.
The floor beneath his feet feels unsteady in a way that bombs and even invasions never managed.
And in the cavern of the training room, he hears the sudden sound of clapping echoing against the walls.
"Not now," Dick says.
Slade ignores him like he always does, letting out a low whistle as he steps out from the shadows of the hallway. "I see why you like her, kid. Gotta admit never really thought she was your type; but, now….," he smirks, "now, we definitely know she isn't."
"Shut up, Slade," Dick growls, annoyed at the man in a way he rarely lets himself get baited into.
"You disagree?" Slade's smirk widens. "Not changing sides on me this easy, are you, Dick? Gotta admit after years of trying to get you to see the light. I'm going to be real pissed if all it took was a pretty face and a single conversation."
Dick turns, stalking away even as Slade catches up easily.
"She has her reasons," Dick says.
Slade laughs. "Don't we all? But having 'reasons' is never going to be good enough for you, Dick, is it? Not for this? Not for killing."
Dick doesn't answer and Slade moves in front of him, eye baring down onto Dick.
"And we both know why, don't we, Dick? Because it's not your rule she's breaking, is it?"
Dick doesn't move, doesn't let his expression change, doesn't even flinch, not giving Slade any opportunities to read anything off him.
It doesn't matter. Slade knows already.
He always has when it comes to this.
"Bat's been dead for seven years, kid," Slade says and some of the edges in his voice tuck away, never enough for gentleness but enough to not sound cruel. "Don't you think it's time to change up the rule book?"
Dick shifts before he can help it, dropping down and swiping out a leg on instinct.
Slade sidesteps it like he was expecting it, swords in his hands a second later and sweeping down; but, Dick's already continuing the motion, twisting away so the blade sinks into the mats below.
The next sword swing hits against his escrima with a scrape that feels biting in the silence of the training room.
And, then, they're gone.
A swipe of a blade countered and twisted away.
A kick hit back out.
Escrima knocked away after a hit hard enough to bruise.
Dick doesn't care. He's moving and it's familiar, a place to stand even if it's built on sharp edges and cutting words.
And, somewhere, he's aware that he's losing clarity too fast, movements just as precise, just as damaging, but too much, too hard.
But, he can't...he can't stop, not here, not if it means Slade wins, not in this.
So, Dick moves.
Escrimas are dangerous weapons in the wrong hands, even more dangerous in the right ones. Their power is founded in blunt force; but, controlled enough to wield with precision.
A hard enough hit to the neck can crush a windpipe easily. A bit more and it can break the bone, sever the spinal cord.
Dick stops, the stick stills to a complete halt barely an inch away from Slade's neck.
"I win," he states.
"Mmm," the older man doesn't look particularly concerned, hand flexing tellingly on his swords. "Then why am I still breathing?
Dick glares. "Knock it off, Slade."
Slade sighs, almost regretful and barely looking winded. Which is how Dick knows for certain Slade planned how this fight would end.
"All that force and none of the follow through. What do you take from that, kid?"
"That there's more effective ways to apply force." Dick lets his hand drop, the escrima held tight at his side.
"Pretty words." Slade straightens up, "When you get down to it, pretty words make for a piss poor shield."
"Words have worked so far," Dick bites back.
The mercenary only quirks an eyebrow, gaze never quite leaving Dick even as he moves his head as if observing the walls of the Tower or maybe even further.
"Have they? Have they really?" Slade meets Dick's eyes. "Cause from where I'm standing, it looks like you're staring down at a war from two fronts. Take it from a former soldier, kid, words don't win wars. Neither does mercy."
Slade smirks, biting seriousness pulled up at sharp edges. "And if you don't believe me, listen to your girlfriend. Want to survive this? Want your team to survive? Your world? Then, you gotta do what he takes to win a war." He tilts his chin, the deep purple mark already fading into nothing. "You keep aiming for bruises, Dick, we'll die. How much are you willing to sacrifice to honor the rules of a dead man?"
Dick doesn't say anything.
Slade nods like he's answered anyway, stepping back without withdrawing until he's all the way out of the training room and finally leaving Dick alone.
Dick's hands are still clenched around the escrimas sticks, hard enough to ache.
ooooooo
A/N: Hey, guys, so sorry for the wait! I got pretty busy these past couple of months; but, I am back of length, I had to cut this final chapter into two parts. With that, part 4 will be the final part of Year 7. Thank you everyone sooooooo much for your support. I really could not be doing this without you and I really appreciate all the support you've given me while writing this story.
Translations:
Mel slexh: my sister
Mel klexh: my heart
Mel frexh, mel jlexhn yeliln, pelil elu giln lia flexh kixhl: My brother, my young one, what has she done to you
Elu lilhmon mwiln: I love you