"Did you really have to bring him with us?" Jason angrily whispered to Cass as they watched Cain mill around the cabin of their private plane. Obviously, he hadn't experienced luxury like this in a long time.

"He was not safe there. We could not let him die," Cass whispered back.

Jason's scowl deepened, and he looked away, scoffing. Cass frowned sadly at him, folding her hands into her lap. The intercom buzzed, the pilot telling them to prepare for lift off, cutting off any further conversation.

This was it. They were finally going after Lady Shiva.

According to Raul, after her little murder spree on Cass' network, Shiva had stationed herself in a village in the countryside of China. Remote, not easily accessed. Jason had their plane land at a private airfield near the area, then commissioned a large jeep for them to use to get there.

Since he was the freeloader, Cain had been elected as driver. He sat in the front by his lonesome, while his two younger companions sat in the back together two rows away, trying to get as much privacy as possible. There was something they needed to talk about.

"You aren't happy with me," Jason noted, speaking quietly.

"What you did was…humiliation."

Jason shrugged. "I would've ended it sooner, but Don King wanted a show, so I gave him a show."

"I know. It was just…distressing. It…it reminded me of her," Cass puffed out a breath. "She is brutal but — she plays, too. And she enjoys it."

Her brother frowned. "Well, don't worry," he assured her, "I'm not her. I never will be."

"It is not just you I worry for."

For a moment, he wondered what she was talking about, but then the thought came rushing in. Jason grabbed his sister by her shoulders, not enough to bruise but enough to keep her in place. He always was the physically strongest of his siblings.

"No, Cass, no. You are, and are never going to be, her."

Cass smiled tearfully at him. "Are you sure? This is not going to work, Jason."

"Don't say that—"

"It won't, Jason. Cain is right, and we both know it. She will never stop."

"She will if she's dead," Jason shot back viciously, "You saw Dragon, Cass, as did I. To say nothing of the bastard currently driving us right now. She's aging. Weakening. We just need to keep her at bay until some other fighter with less scruples than us offs her, and then we're home free."

"We cannot do that, Jason—"

"It's what he would do!"

Jason was heaving. Cass was staring.

"He was a hypocrite like that. He couldn't stand to let anyone die in front of him, but if they were offed out of sight and by someone that wasn't thirsting for his approval, then he didn't care."

"You know it was not like that, Jason."

"Wasn't it?" Jason wiped some sweat off his forehead. "When it came to his morals, there were so many double standards with him that it was hard to keep track what was acceptable and what wasn't. Even the big one. He let Damian get away with shit that he never did with me or Tim or even Dick."

"Because he neglected Damian, Jason. Even when partners, he never gave him approval or attention our brother wanted — or the expression of it, at least. Damian had to find it with Dick and the rest of us."

"And is that supposed to make things better? Is any of it?" Jason buried his face into his sister's shoulder, "God, Cass. I love him, I still do, and I miss him, but I also can't help but fucking hate him sometimes. We were all fucked up on some level because of him."

Cass couldn't deny that, but she didn't want to talk about it any longer. "Enough. This is not about him. What are we to do about Shiva? I do not want to be her, Jason. Be creator and destroyer, but…"

Jason pursed his lips, a plan forming in his mind. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, Cass. Right now, we need to focus on stopping her here, first."

That wasn't comforting at all. Jason could tell by the way his sister drew back into herself. He wrapped his arms around her, keeping her close to his chest. She was so much smaller than him, he realized. It made her seem more fragile than he knew her to be.

Unbeknown to him, he didn't spot Cain watching them through the rear-view mirror.

They arrived to a large clearing with a cobble of huts that looked like they hadn't been inhabited in decades. Immediately, the siblings felt their hearts sink. Both of them were observant enough to see the signs — life had not treaded this place in a long time.

There was no question about it. The village was deserted.

Jason kicked at the dirt angrily. "Well that's just fucking great! This was our best lead!"

Cass looked both disappointed and relieved. "We will call Oracle then. Ask for help. She can find Shiva."

"Right, right. Here, let me get my phone, she'll be happy to hear you—"

Click.

A gun was aimed at both of them.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Jason sighed, glaring at Cain. "You know that's not going to work."

Cain huffed. "It's not supposed to."

Jason and Cass exchanged a look. Suddenly, from the shadows of the surrounding foliage, a veritable army of ninjas and rogues appeared. And with them—

—was Lady Shiva.

Her hair was shorter, a pair of lines running down the insides of her face, but it was unquestionably her. The greatest martial artist in the world, the creator and the destroyer. The great nightmare than had been haunting their dreams for the past few months. Jason felt Cass tense beside him, and automatically grabbed her hand. Shiva eyed him more critically at the gesture, but that was the only reaction she had to it.

"Well done," Shiva said to Cain, before turning their attentions back to them. "I tire of this game, little girl. Time and again, I have given you opportunity after opportunity to fulfill your destiny, and you reject it no matter what I do. Well, no more. It is time. We fight, and one of us shall die," she narrowed her eyes, "this time, for good."

"Then kill me now," Cass said, stepping forward and resisted Jason's attempt to pull her back. "I will not do it. I will never do it."

Shiva raised an eyebrow, then looked at Cain once more. He gave her a single nod, and smile flitted between her lips.

"Very well then," she fixated her gaze on Jason, "Then I challenge you, Jason Todd. You will be a fine name to add to my list of victims, another building block to my legacy."

Jason's mouth fell open, as did Cass'. She broke out of her reverie first, stepping protectively in front of her brother. "No!"

"It is not for you to decide, little girl," Shiva said disparagingly. "It is his. Either you fight me or he does. That is the only way either of you are going to get out of here alive. He kills me — which he won't, of course — I get what I want. I kill him, and you will give me what I want."

Desperate, Cass turned her attentions to Cain, betrayal aching from every pore. "Why? Why did you help her?" How did she not see it? Was she so blinded by Shiva that she could not see the betrayal in front of her? Or did she not want to see it?

(She still loved him. She wanted to forgive him. So why—?)

"So you could finally become what you were born to be." He refused to meet her eyes.

"No!" Cass cried out angrily. "This is not what I was born to be! This is what you wanted me to be!"

"Enough of your shrieking," Shiva interjected with a bored tone. She looked at Jason once more, smirking. "Well?"

Jason looked at his sister, at her pleading eyes, and inhaled deeply. His gaze met Shiva's. "I accept."

"NO!"

Cass was practically sobbing now, holding Jason's left arm in an ironclad grip. "No, no, no, you can't, you can't—"

Jason gently placed his hand over hers, trying to relax it, loosen it. "It'll be alright, Cass. I promise."

She shook her head, tears in her eyes. Jason kissed her forehead, then wrenched his arm away, dropping his backpack next to his sister. Cass reached out to him, almost ready to collapse, as Shiva's men surrounded her. Even if she were to rip through them, the numbers were against her — not even she could win against this many, or at least not fast enough to stop the battle. And even if she could…she could see the look in Jason's eyes. He was determined, truly intent, and few things could stop him when he was like that.

"I love you. Always remember that," was the last thing he said to her before turning to face Shiva completely, ignoring the sniffles behind him.

Shiva was smiling at him. It was not kind. "It is fitting," she said ominously. "My sister died so I could become creator and destroyer, so I could become Lady Shiva. Now, you will do the same for my daughter."

"She is not your daughter," Jason said angrily, rolling his neck.

"Perhaps so," Shiva shrugged. "Any last requests?"

"Do I have your word that no one here will interfere with this fight, no matter what happens? That until one of us dies, your people will stay their hands?"

Shiva clicked her teeth. "I have no sway over your sister, of course, but as for everyone else," she circled her gaze on the surrounding group, including Cain. "Consider it done."

"She won't interfere," Jason said, voice calm. "She won't have to."

The older woman clicked her teeth. "So confident for someone about to die," she dropped into a stance.

Jason followed her lead, entering a stance of his own. The wind blew, the clearing fell silent. A moment…and then a charge.

The moment he engaged her, Jason knew he could not win. Shiva had weakened, yes, but nowhere near to the extent of Cain. She was easily still on the Dragon's level, and worse yet, she was actually fighting to kill him. She had not allowed him the grace of weaponry, just pure hand-to-hand combat, and while Jason was a master in his own right, there was no way he could win against the likes of her.

As he struggled to block blow after blow, exchanging counter for counter, he couldn't help but observe Shiva in full. The creator, the destroyer, and beneath it all a woman who had lost it all. A woman that was desperate to ensure the worst tragedy of her life never happened again, by discarding all attachments and devoting every fiber of her being to the altar of combat. Despite himself, Jason couldn't help but sympathize with her, far more than he ever did David Cain.

He knew what it was like to lose a sibling. A twin, no, but a sibling, yes. He had lost three in the last two years, and the overwhelming grief still felt too much to bear. If it weren't for this last sibling, the last remnant of the family that the broken man called their father had built so long ago — if it weren't for her, Jason wondered if he would become like Shiva. Shiva certainly believed the reverse would be true; that, if Cass were to lose him, she would become Shiva. The one thing she never wanted to be.

He couldn't let that happen. His sister was good, kind, and deserved the world. He had to protect her. He couldn't protect Tim or Damian, but Cass was still here. She was all he had left.

With his resolve strengthened, Jason decided it was time to put his plan into action.

He deliberately left himself open on his right flank, allowed Shiva that fatal blow. If she noticed it was deliberate or not, she didn't care. She went in for the kill — just as Jason wanted. This, more than anything, showed Shiva's true age.

The old her would've seen this coming.

Time and again, and still she failed to remember, to learn.

Jason was a Bat. And Bats never played fair.

A quick sleight of the hand, and a knife was drawn just as he ducked under the blow. Jason stabbed Shiva's leg, cutting a deep gash into her thigh. He could feel her cringe in pain, and before she could react, he stabbed her in her other thigh, then pulled her by the foot, forcing her on her back. He scrambled up, using his superior weight and physique to pin her underfoot, securing her arms.

From the depths of his mind, familiar whispers began to emerge. The Pit was calling for him, screaming for him to spill blood. And for the first time in years, Jason didn't try to fight it. He held the knife up high, and plunged down, aiming directly for Shiva's face.

But he was stopped.

A familiar pair of pale-skinned hands were fighting his own, stopping him from finally ending this. The knife trembled beneath them, the tip a hair's breadth away from piercing skin. Jason looked up to see Cass there, face distraught.

"Let me do it," Jason ordered her, and this voice wasn't Batman — it was the Red Hood. "You're right. She won't stop, so let me do it."

"No," Cass shook her head.

"Dammit, Cass! Let me kill her!"

"No!"

"She has to die! She'll never stop coming after you! If you won't do it, then I will!"

"You can't, Jason," she was practically begging him now, "You can't."

"You were perfectly fine with Dragon doing it!" Jason angrily pointed out. "Why not me?"

"You are my brother, that is why! And our father taught us that murder is wrong! If you kill her, especially like this, it will be a betrayal of his memory!" Cass retorted, angry as she was anguished, "He would have never approved of this!"

"HE'S DEAD! THEY'RE ALL DEAD!"

Cass froze, tears still running down her cheeks.

"They're all dead," Jason was crying too, now, his face red, "They're all dead, and you are all I have left. I can't lose you, Cass. If I lose you…" The very thought seemed to cause him pain.

"…if I lose you, I'll die all over again. And this time, nothing will bring me back."

Her face crumpled. She let go. But before Jason could proceed—

"You do this, and you will lose me anyway," she told him, voice quiet. "You worked so hard to be a hero again, Jason. Do not let her turn you back into a murderer."

He began to shake.

"This is not our way. So please…" she didn't have the emotional strength to say more. But her gaze never wavered. The will in here eyes said the rest.

Jason looked away, and stared down at Shiva's face. He wasn't really seeing her. He wasn't really seeing anything at all, really. Words kept running through his head, memories of happier times long gone. Damian dragging him to the nearest shelter to find his newest pet; Tim slumped over the counter of his diner, computer half-open and paperwork surrounding him; Dick and him, arms slung over each other's shoulders, red-faced and giggling after a night of drinking; Bruce…

…Bruce.

Cass was right. Bruce would've never approved of this. He would've understood, but he wouldn't have approved. He would've tried to find another way. All of them would have. And what kind of man would he be, if he wasn't willing to do the same?

When he came back the first time, when his mind returned to him, the Pit called for him to kill. But that wasn't an excuse in the end. The truth was that he wasn't willing to try and look for a better way. A way that didn't end in blood and death and pain. He let the Pit consume him, because it was easier to do than have hope and see it crushed time and again. In the end, he'd rather see the bad than the good.

But focusing on the bad had only ever left him miserable. Cynical. Resigned. Unhappy. And he was tired of being that way. He wanted to see what his friends saw, what his family saw, even in their darkest moments.

He wanted to see the good.

But he wouldn't see it if he killed Shiva. If he judged her like he had with others in the past. Maybe she was redeemable, maybe she wasn't. That wasn't for him to decide, it never had been. That was the one truth he had refused to accept, because it defeated everything he had ever done, every sin he committed under the belief that he was saving Gotham. He had to accept it now, because if he believed himself the judge and the jury, then he would have no choice but to be determined to see nothing but the worst.

And that wouldn't solve anything, because he had to see the best too. Seeing the best meant he could finally have the hope his family had. The hope that had driven all of them to try and save a city that so many others had deemed irredeemable.

The hope that had driven them to save him. Because they saw the best in him, and despite everything he had done to them, they never gave up on him. And after everything that had happened since then, the last thing Jason wanted to do was betray the faith they had in him.

He stabbed the knife into the ground. He stood up. He looked at his sister. She looked back.

They were in each other's arms a moment later. Jason kissed the top of Cass' head, keeping her face deep in the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Cass told him, voice beginning to steady, "It's okay. Just don't worry me like that again, alright?"

"I won't," Jason closed his eyes, "I promise, I won't."

"Pathetic."

Jason hugged his sister closer as they both watched Shiva struggle to her feet, a fierce, uncompromising look of complete disdain on her face. Even the stab wounds Jason had given her, the blood that was gushing from her legs, was not enough to keep her down.

It didn't matter. In her current state, she didn't stand a chance against either of them, let alone both. It would be a trial getting through the army, especially with Jason out of breath from the battle he had just fought, but they'd manage. It wasn't anything they hadn't done before.

"You think this is the end?" Shiva roared at them, a crazed look in her eye. It was disturbing, how different she was now from her initially cool demeanor.

This was not the woman that made the greatest fighters in the world quiver in their boots. No, really looking at her now, Jason could see what she really was — the girl who lost her sister for the sake of her own potential. The girl that wished for her sister to live on in someway after her death, after both their deaths. The guilt, the regret, the loss, all of it was permeating from her in such a way that even he could feel it. He knew Cass did, judging by the pitying look on her face.

That was why she was so intent on having Cass succeed her, he realized. Because Cass was the reason Carolyn was dead. Cain had killed Carolyn Su-Wan to unleash Shiva's potential, so that potential could be passed down to the weapon he sought. Jason knew that Shiva wasn't totally incapable of affection — Black Canary, Dinah Laurel Lance, had proven that — but she was incapable of feeling it for her daughter, because every time she looked at her, she couldn't help but see the beloved sister that was murdered for the sake of her existence.

If she killed Cass, then her sister would be avenged. The cause of Carolyn's death, the person whose feet Sandra Wu-San laid the blame at (more than even David Cain, the man who pulled the trigger), would finally be dead.

If Cass killed her, then her sister would be vindicated. The weapon that Carolyn died for would finally be perfected, finally ready to fulfill its purpose, and the greatest loss of Sandra Wu-San's life would not be for nothing.

No matter what happened, Lady Shiva would win.

But now it was dawning on her that it wasn't happening. That nothing would make Cass kill her. That nothing would make him kill her either. That they would stand together to stop her, and together, not even she could win against them — not anymore. That they would simply keep on imprisoning her and imprisoning her until she died on her own. That this legacy, the legacy she had devoted her entire life to building, would not end in an instant of glorious battle and death, but fade away with a whimper.

And unlike Jason, this was not a truth she was willing to accept.

"Take me to jail! Go ahead! As soon as I heal, I will break out, and it will start all over again! I will kill and kill until one of you finally overcomes their cowardice and ends me!" She was seething, "I am Lady Shiva, creator and destroyer! You dare spurn the hon—"

Click.

Boom.

Jason felt his eyes widen, and he knew Cass had a similar expression. Shiva looked down at her chest, blood leaking out of her mouth. There was a bullet wound there. Right through the heart. She collapsed.

In her place was David Cain, gun still aimed and smoking. He was wearing an indecipherable expression that Jason, for the life of him, could not figure out. So in shock, he didn't even react when Cass slipped out of his arms to stare down at the woman who had given birth to her, and then to the man who had sired her. A thousand emotions, words unexpressed, seemed to pass between the two of them.

An arrow broke the moment. Shiva gave her word that no matter what happened, no one would interfere with the fight until one of them was dead. With her dead, the fight was clearly over.

No point on dwelling on it any longer. They needed to get out of here now.

"Fuck! Cass!" Cass turned to look back at him, "Cover me!"

Not waiting for an answer, Jason ducked under another arrow as the army began to converge on him. He dove for his backpack (left all by its lonesome after Cass interjected herself into the duel) and began rifling through the contents. He didn't have to look up to see Cass tackle one of the soldiers and begin cleaning house. He was a bit surprised to hear the telltale gunshots of Cain doing the same.

Come on, come on—Gotcha! He pulled out his utility belt, snapping it around his waist with well-practiced ease. Taking out three smoke pellets, he snapped a quick "CLOSE YOUR EYES!" and then threw them, grabbing his sister's hand just before they hit the ground.

Smoke exploded around them. Jason felt it wash over his face, and then charged through the mass of coughing bodies, dragging Cass along with him. It was only he felt clear air again that he allowed himself to open his eyes again, running towards the general direction of where they parked the jeep. Cass let go of his hand and ran in front of him, taking out any enemies that stood in their way. Next to him, he could see David Cain following them with more energy than Jason had ever seen in him since they first found him in that arena in Vietnam.

They made it to the jeep. Jason tossed his backpack inside and jumped in the same time as Cass, while Cain took the driver's seat. Even as they punched out of there, Jason didn't allow himself to relax. Things couldn't be that easy.

He was right. It seems Shiva had been prepared for an impromptu escape. Countless dirt bikes, specially-designed for this particular rough terrain, tore through the forest after them at insane speeds. Jason took out several batarangs, handing a few to Cass, and threw them with precision. They knocked away weapons, and blew out tires — he couldn't help but flinch at a particularly bad wipe out — but they just didn't seem to stop coming.

Fucking cult. That was the only explanation. Shiva never had any problems using people's obsession with her for her own gain. Even death didn't seem to break her hold on them.

They kept going regardless. Even after Jason had run out of batarangs and had resorted to taking out bits of the car, they kept going. The Family was waiting for them back home, they couldn't afford to die here. Not when Gotham needed them.

"Oi, Todd!" Jason didn't dare to look back, but he did give out a loud grunt to indicate he was listening. "You got explosives in that bag of yours?"

"Yeah, but—" Before Jason could say more, he was flung back into the driver's seat. A second later he found Cass in the same boat as him. Realizing that the no one was actually driving, he put his hands on the steering wheel, stabilizing them before they could careen into a tree.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" He screamed. Next to him, Cass uprighted herself, looking up to see Cain begin wrapping himself with the incendiary devices he had packed in his backpack.

"No…" She whispered.

"Take care of my little girl," were Cain's last words.

(They would haunt both their dreams for the years to come.)

Jason blinked and turned to look back. Cass moved to jump after her last blood relative, but it was too late — Cain threw himself at the their attackers, a lit match in his hand. Knowing what was about to happen, Jason stepped on the gas medal so hard that it would probably leave an imprint on his boot when this was all over. The jeep accelerated even faster than before, just barely enough to escape the ensuing explosion.

Next to him, Cass watched as the last of her biological parents died in a literal blaze of glory. She remained in that position for a long time as the fire gradually disappeared from view. The moment it was completely gone, she dropped back into her seat next to Jason, eyes far away.

"Any more pursuers?" Jason asked softly.

"No."

He said nothing in response. That was all he needed to know. One hand on the wheel, Jason used his free arm to tuck her into his side. Cass welcomed his embrace, burying her face into his neck, as the tears once again began streaming down her cheeks.

The flight home was quiet. The moment the plane was in the air, they pulled out the couch and turned it into a bed. After everything that had happened this past week, they were both ready to turn in. Once they were both firmly tucked in, Jason hugged his sister close, and didn't let go.

When the plane landed, Jason was happy to see that the city wasn't on fire. That was probably the best sign they had that things were finally turning around. Even better, a car was waiting for them, with Luke at the helm.

"Welcome home," was the first thing Luke said, pulling Cass into a hug first. She returned it happily.

After they let go, Jason let loose a smirk as he and Luke clasped hands in a tight, familiar greeting. "How's the company? Any heads that need to roll?"

"Nah," Luke returned the smirk. "Dad and I took care of that. When will you be back?"

"Give me a week to settle back in, and then you'll be home free. Just make sure Babs doesn't kill us."

"I make no promises."

Knowing Babs, Jason knew that was the best he was going to get.

(It was good to be home.)

"Jay!" Stephanie said joyfully, lunging at him. Jason caught her with a laugh, looking around at the interior of the Manor from the corner of his eye. Everything looked to be in order. Good.

"How was Gotham?"

"Great!" and then her face morphed into something stern. "Never put me in charge again."

"I'm not sure, I mean you seemed to have done a pretty good job…"

"No!" Stephanie was pouting. "Never again! Too much responsibility!"

Jason snickered, then exhaled. "I have someone that wants to see you."

Stephanie's face softened as he stepped aside to reveal her best friend. As the two caught up, Jason started walking towards the servants' quarters. There was someone else that Cass needed to see. He just hoped the old man was up for it right now.

He knocked on the door to Alfred's room. When a "No, Miss Stephanie, I do not want to watch any more episodes of The Bachelor," met him, he chuckled, and used that as his cue to walk in.

Alfred looked up at him with an exasperated look that instantly melted away once he realized that his visitor wasn't a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman. "Master Jason!" The butler sounded perturbed. "Forgive me, young sir. I didn't realize it was you."

"It's fine, Alfred. You're looking well."

"Yes, well, Miss Stephanie has been quite attentive. Perhaps overly so."

"It's only because she cares," Jason sighed. "Do you want to see her?"

"Of course," Alfred sounded scandalized that he would ever think otherwise.

"Alright, let me just bring her here."

After leaving Cass behind with Alfred, he sat down with Stephanie in the breakfast nook, face serious.

"Nothing too big happened while I was gone?"

Stephanie shook her head. "Nothing we couldn't handle. Though…" she seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"What is it, Steph?"

"Duke and I did some investigating, and Babs is looking into it right now. There's been some rumbling lately. We think there's a budding crime lord trying to make their home in Gotham."

Jason frowned and adopted a thinking pose. "Any idea who it is yet?"

"Not so far."

"Keep digging. Cass and I are going to have our hands full training Jon and Carrie. Not to mention, I've been neglecting my duties with the Justice League."

"Oh!" It seemed Jason's comment had reminded Stephanie of something. "That reminds me — Clark wants to know when you're going to bring Carrie to meet him and Diana. Something about 'tradition' and all that."

"Tch. Tell him it's after she actually becomes Robin. No sooner than that."

"Alright then," Stephanie looked similarly amused, "But don't be surprised if they drop in unexpectedly just to prove you wrong."

"It don't doubt it, Steph," Jason smiled, "I don't doubt it."

"Cass!"

"Jon!"

"So that's you're super-cool-ultra-badass sister?" Carrie asked as she and Jason watched Cass' next hug fest start.

"Yup," Jason smacked his lips. "Want to meet her?"

Carrie paused, clearly nervous. Jason placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's going to be alright. She's going to love you — I promise."

Guiding her towards his sister, he watched as Cass turned around to look at them. She shot Carrie an encouraging smile and bent down a bit, offering her hand. Carrie returned with a shy smile of her own, and Jason knew, then and there, that everything was going to be alright.

More people came to the Manor to welcome the Wayne siblings back home. Duke and Bette, Barbara and her baby son and even her father as well. It felt good to be home.

As the impromptu celebration died down, Jason found himself outside, near the family cemetery. The place where Thomas and Martha Wayne and all their ancestors were buried. The place where Bruce and his brothers were buried.

No expense had been spared for the gravestones. Each one was beautifully crafted and ornate, expressing how much each grave's occupant was well-beloved. None more so than the deliberate space left between Dick and Tim, the first and third sons. The place he would go, when his time finally came.

Jason remembered telling Damian once that he intended to be cremated. That decision had been discarded after Tim's death, with Jason deliberately ordering that there would be enough space between his grave and Dick's for Jason's own. Damian, of course, was on the other side of Tim, while Bruce was on the other side of Dick. He knew Cass planned to have her grave placed next to their youngest sibling, completing the set.

One by one, he placed his hand on each stone. He didn't have the time to buy flowers when he got back to Gotham, and made a note to buy bigger bouquets the next time he visited.

"Hey," he started. "It's been a while. I'm sorry about that — something came up. Cass and I got into a spot of trouble, but we're okay now."

He swallowed.

"I almost killed someone again. A couple days ago, in fact. I thought it would've solved our problem, and maybe it would have. I don't know. I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Cass stopped me. She said you wouldn't have approved."

Jason took a deep breath. "Look. I know that all of us didn't agree on everything. Especially about…about that. And the truth is, the reason why is because I'm jaded. So, so jaded. My childhood, my death, all of it makes it harder for me to see the good. I know that it's there, and I find it, but—well, it never gleamed for me the same way it did for you."

"I was jealous of you for that. All of you. The world seemed so much brighter to you than it did to me. More than once, I wished I could see what you could. Other times, I wished you saw things my way, if only to prove I was right. Sometimes I was. Sometimes I wasn't. Maybe we were all right in the end, or all wrong. We'll never know the answer."

"There's a couple of things I do know, though. One is that I love you all. And if that there's one thing I'm scared of, it's that I didn't say it nearly enough," he inhaled another breath, "The other is that I want to save this city. Like you did, the way you did. And I'm not sure if I can, if I can be good like you were, if I can believe like you did. I just know that I love you too much not to try. And I swear, I'll keep trying until the day I die. I just hope that it'll be enough."

"It will be."

Jason whirled around to see Cass standing behind him. She walked up to him, lacing their hands together and leaning against his shoulder as she gazed upon the headstones. They stayed like for a long while, letting the memories wash over them.

"They wanted to save this city," he murmured.

"They will."

Jason lifted his head at his sister's statement, blinking in surprise. Cass met his gaze, and squeezed his hand.

"Through us."

A genuine smile bloomed on his face, and Jason squeezed back, just as hard.

"Yeah. Through us."

And finally, this arc is over.

I'll admit, I cried at that last scene. I've been looking forward to writing that scene, because it really shows why Jason is the person he is now, while not disregarded the person he was before. There will be more underlining his ideals in the next chapter (including that talk about killing that both him and Bruce) have been putting off. Along with a little more mystery~

I know a lot of you expected Jason to kill Shiva or at least cripple her. But this flashback was never about that. Not really. This flashback was about Jason and Cass' relationship, about how much they cared for each other, loved each other, and ultimately how Cass brought back Jason's desire to be a hero again. One of the biggest reasons why Jason didn't kill Shiva is because he knew that she would blame herself as much as she did him. That there would always be this weight between them, separating them, and after losing so much family, he couldn't bear to have that. He loves Cass and he needs her, more than anyone else at this point in time.

The other reason is much more complex. Jason give up killing when he was twenty-one (seven years before this flashback) for a reason I'm not going to explain yet. That being said, just because he gave it up did not mean he automatically gave up his beliefs about criminals. That he automatically believed in the same ideology as the rest of his family. Even as he, as the Red Hood and then as Batman, gradually slid back into true blue superheroism, he still harbored doubts about whether or not this was the right path.

But here, he realized that those doubts didn't matter. That neither he, nor anyone else would ever really know if it was the right path. But what he did know is that he loved his family, and that they believed it was the right path, and that if he truly wanted to honor their legacy, then he needed to at least try it their way. To see things the way they did. He didn't have the right to vindicate it or condemn it otherwise.

As for Cain, this was thematic. Pre-Flashpoint David Cain may have horrifically abused Cass into a weapon, but he also provided genuine (if twisted) emotional support and clearly loved her. And Cass, despite everything, still loved him. Here, that love is still there. At first he chose to help Shiva because he thought this was best for Cass, that this would elevate her to the level he dreamed of for years. But Cass' statement — that this is what he wanted, not what she wanted — stuck with him. The doubts were already there when he saw how scared and unhappy she was about this situation with Shiva, how she genuinely did not want to kill again, especially not her mother, no matter how much of a monster she was.

And then there was Jason. As much as Cain dislikes Jason (for reasons pertaining to Bruce), he cannot deny how much Jason loves Cass. This opinion was only strengthened when Jason made it clear he was willing to fight and kill Shiva on Cass' behalf. However, the moment that solidified his decision to kill Shiva is when Jason chose not to kill Shiva, because he knew it would hurt his sister. It forced Cain to realize that if he truly loved his daughter, then he couldn't force his dreams on her, the things that made him happy, and expect her to be happy with them when it was so diametrically opposed to what she wanted.

By killing Shiva, Cain not only destroys the monster he created, but also frees his daughter from the fate he was trying to force on her. By sacrificing himself to save the lives of Jason and Cass, he finally frees his daughter, giving her his implicit blessing to live her own life, with the man he knows will do anything to protect her and make her happy. While it isn't quite redemption, it's something close to it.

Stay tuned for next chapter, for when we return to the present!