The family had been relaxing in their short reprieve since Nyssa's attack months ago. Jason and Jamila were both still weak from having Lazarus ripped from their bodies. Jason made weaker as the council demanded another blood ritual to even consider his legitimacy to the throne. They still struggled with the duties pressing upon them. This was the first night that Jamila had been allowed out of the medical ward and even then, they were only in the hall adjacent.

She despised the feeling of being so weak and helpless, but her health was fluctuating every passing hour. She had nothing to do with her time except dote on her Theseus and even that wasn't always consistent. His blessing still hadn't come to pass, and more often than not, his father was there to spoil him.

It made her envious. He wasn't the one trapped in hospital room with no entertainment. She wasn't even allowed to train in the slightest. Not even simple sit-ups. She knew that postpartum depression was a thing especially coupled with her fragile mentality now that she didn't have Lazarus to lean on, but still…

She was the Demon personified. She should have more liberties than what they gave her.

But as she sat surrounded by her family, she couldn't voice her complaints. She was weak if the way that it took most of her strength to sit straight on the lounge chair was any indication. Jamila loved to be pampered and waited on hand and foot, but she was also stubbornly independent.

She despised asking for help which was why she sat pouting grumpily that as the wounds on her side demanded reprieve. They would just have to scream because she was not going to waste her breath.

And she had more important things to worry about, such as planning out Theseus' life outside of the league. Where they were going to move to as she refused to let him grow up listening to the whispered words of Nanda Pardat. She hadn't officially even lived in the main compound until she was fifteen. There was the underwater compound that she was raised in at Lake Baikal. It had been turned into a safe house and abandoned the day she was moved to Nanda Pardat.

There was the compound of Mount Sinai where Mara and Damian trained to become the Demon's Fist. It had also been abandoned. Now more than ever since Mother kidnapped Mara and her following rescue.

Even Mount Haku where Athanasia had been raised would be a good choice. Far away from civilization to keep any kidnappers and wrongdoers away.

She'd have to send for the best tutors in every subject. He could study standard martial arts when he turned twelve. A private schooling of his choosing would be suitable for his higher education at the collegiate level. She'd support whatever would be his choice of focus.

An Al Ghul clan member of the head family living a completely normal life. It sounded weird to her own ears.

But it was still infinitely better than being in Jason's shoes. A part of her felt guilty of course. The title of Heir had been hers (no more than the title as Demon's Head), but she abandoned it. For good reason of course as even now, the council wanted to marry her off and delegate her to a housewife role. Her own mother and aunt hadn't even allowed such stupidity what made them think she would.

And with her father being such an immovable wall, countless of assassinations attempts had already been thwarted on her son's life. The Shimura clan had been wiped out leaving only the children under the age of eighteen. Jason had been furious to learn of the proceedings and that was the only reason their clan head had been kept alive. Red Ronin had made a terrifying entrance back to the limelight as the man screams pierced through the night. (It had set Jason's recovery backwards, but it had been worth it) (She and her lover watched it with satisfaction during the times Theseus slept soundly through the night).

Jamila tensed as smoke began to fill the room.

She heard the sound of weapons being drawn and she cursed her body for being so weak. Even with the healing factor she inherited from both her parents, Lazarus being brutally ripped from her soul had left a heartbreaking bruise on her body. She felt useless and her mind wove nightmares of who could be attacking. Who would they be after? Her son? She was too weak to protect him. She didn't even have that weird crow charm Shisui gave her to summon him. Her baby boy was in danger and she could do nothing.

The smoke cleared and there was a group of people standing in the family room.

Every instinct she had screamed that they were dangerous deathly so, but her instincts also stated they could be trusted. That they were familiar, and she could see how familiar, but she wouldn't- couldn't trust her eyes. Not these weak humane things. She would need glasses until her enhanced biology fixed the damage to them.

There were two girls, and three boys. Their eyes red rimmed but filled with grim determination.

They bore no clan markings except the youngest.

The youngest who couldn't have been more than five.

And looking into his eyes were like looking into a mirror.

Jamila sat frozen as she gazed upon. Intellectually, she knew that her aunt and cousins were in the room with her. Her brother and sister were standing close by. Her father stood protectively over Theseus' bassinet.

The youngest one-

He looked so much like-

"Mother. It's me. Theseus."

Jamila fainted.


Were his eyes deceiving him?

Jason couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Theseus.

Little Theseus that was lying not even five feet from him was also standing before him. And then there were his other cousins. Damian and Athanasia looked like their parents' twins. It was actually quite fucking scary. Mara's curls had grown longer, and she looked so much like her mystery mother because there wasn't a drop of Dusan in her. Even Suren let his hair grow out to the point that it was braided down his back.

And then there were the other things he could see. They all stood slightly at attention in a faux relaxed stature. He was sure if he even looked as if he was going to attack them, then they'd be up and out of the way faster than he could blink.

They looked like warriors. Like soldiers.

He could see the exact things that Jamila was trying to shield Theseus from in them. He didn't see his younger cousins, his younger brother, or his adopted brother… all he saw was himself as he looked at them. He saw the small flinches and the haunted look in their eyes.

Eyes of killers. Eyes of someone who didn't even know how many people they had killed. Even Little Theseus.

What happened to them? What happened that Jamila allowed Theseus to follow in the footsteps of the Al Ghul legacy?

"Mother," Theseus gasped jerking forward as if to reach for Jamila. She had fainted after Theseus introduced himself though Jason knew it was from her wounds more than the shock. He had seen her squirming a little uncomfortably, but he knew she'd sooner stab him before asking for help.

Damian stepped forward in front of the group, "We're from five years into the future. And we need your help to stop the end of the world."

And here Jason thought he was going to be able to get some paperwork done.


Sitting quietly, Talia listened to these older versions of her children speak of their future. This dark future in which they came.

But Talia didn't get to where she was in life to not notice the things they weren't saying.

The pain in their hearts.

The rage in their spirits.

The grief in their eyes.

There was sorrow surrounding them as they spoke. The whispers of Nanda Pardat were silenced as their future unravel before them.

There was anguish in them as they talked about their lives and they spoke of how Jamila cared for them. How she once again picked up her sword and stepped back into the life of an assassin.

It hit her then.

Talia hadn't wanted to acknowledge.

She wanted to believe this a foolish dream.

Their future was very grim, and they were still mourning. Jamila sacrificed herself so that they could get away. In a bid to save them, Jamila placed a heavy burden on them. They hadn't even had the time to come to terms with that before they were immediately sat down for testing and interrogations.

Cupping her fingers under her chin, she looked them over, "You have given me much to think on my children. It seems like we much too look forward to in the near future. From your words, I can infer that Vandal is on the verge of finding this Lazarus pit. It must be one of the few that Father and Lord Den worked on together previously. I will send out squads tomorrow to begin searching though I doubt we'd be able to find much."

Thinking over everything that they have told them, Jason leant forward in his seat, "We will have to call in every operative that we know. Maybe refurbish some of our abandoned bases to hide our civilians. You said that Black Mask and Prince Orm had attacked Atlantis… if we start planning now, we should get them on our side. If Vandal wants a war, we need to have the most allies. The world had been divided fighting their own battles which led to Vandal being able to focus his attention purely on us. If we cut him off, we'd have a better chance."

Talia nodded her head in agreement. They had a lot of allies to begin with, but if they strengthened those ties and added more… Vandal wouldn't be able to demolish them so easily. They had five years before Vandal realized that he needed the blood of an Al Ghul and Darga to attack this mysterious pit. Five years to change the name of the game to their side.

Jason sat back a little in his chair as he began to plan. Talia was proud and worried. Her son already had too much on his plate with learning how to run the League, managing his lifestyle as Red Hood, managing his empire, and the side jobs he took as Red Ronin. Planning out a five-year long attack was honestly too much, but she knew he wouldn't step away from this.

Especially when Mara had brought up his friends' death… when she spoke of how broken Jamila became when he himself had die. Talia had known from the moment the two cousins met each other so many years ago that Jason was going to change Jamila in ways they never thought possible. It was a long time coming ever since she had heard Jamila refuse to kill the boy when he was Robin. When she met him again, a connection that had been pulled taunt finally snapped into place.

Even in deep into the control of Lazarus' rage, Jason managed to make Jamila believe in humanity again. Made her believe that she was more than demon in human skin. Made her give people outside of her family chances to connect with her. Made her give her trust to him.

Jason wouldn't betray that trust. He'd do whatever he could to keep her standing strong because he knew that she'd do the same for him.

Talia hummed, "We might as well add the Court of Owls onto this list. They hold no interest in Richard any longer, but they have been rebuilding their forces. Gotham wasn't the only place they had a foothold."

Jason and the futuristic version of Damian shot her wide-eyed looks. Talia only shrugged helplessly, "The Court have been long time allies of the League. The Bawma clan is their designated name inside of the empire. We supply them with agents that have displeased us but are not worthy to stain our blades."

Jason pressed his hands to his face, "I'm still going to have to warn Dick just in case they do try anything."

Talia inclined her head, "Though I do wish to know what Vandal end game is… attacking the League isn't his style. Especially not for a Lazarus pit."

The four teenagers chuckled a little brokenly as their eyes darted towards Jamila and back again, "Funny. That's what Jamila said when news first broke that it was him."

Smiling softly, Talia could see how the children seemed to break just a little bit more. She felt more than she saw Slade come to her side. She wondered if he could see the same things as she. If he could see how much his grandson looked so much like him as he stood with his head held straight. Could he see the demon in the boy? Did he look like the second coming of Deathstroke? Talia could see that the boy had been trained to be built for speed.

Did he see how their mistakes-how their failures as parents reflected in these children before them?

"It still doesn't explain why Savage would attack the League," Slade stated. Talia watched as the kids stood impossibly straighter at his voice.

"Grandpa," Theseus whispered, and Slade froze. Talia froze as tears welled up in his eyes. The young five-year-old rushed forward and threw himself at Slade's legs. "Mama didn't know if you were alive in the end. She cried for you. She tried to go back to get you after the attack, but she couldn't because we needed to run. But you had survived and then we didn't hear from you again."

The older version of Suren walked forward slowly even as Slade looked down at his grandson with wide eyes. Suren knelt down beside the young boy, "Come on, Theo. Its okay. Its okay. I'm here."

Talia felt a part of herself crumble as the walls surrounding the children crashed down fully. Suddenly, it was easy to see how tired they were. She could see how they were one second from collapsing.

She stood up.

"Come. You will stay in Jamila's quarters. Slade, could you take Jamila and the babe back to the medical ward. We will finish this conversation at another time."

She had some calls to make.