Huh. I uh...guess I didn't continue this story. I'd be lying if I said I can only blame writer's block for that - there was definitely some of that, but then I kinda lost passion for this story. I've been on a DC kick lately though, and started picking at this chapter over the last couple of months. Finally finished it last night! I hope you enjoy!

"I want to be crystal clear on this." -the Batman said, hunched over a holograph representing the underground Cadmus facility. "This mission is outside the League's parameters, and beyond our jurisdiction as superheroes. We are attacking a partially government funded facility, without the government's permission."

His eyes squinted. "We'll be breaking every law we've fought to get enacted in favor of acts of vigilantism. At best, public opinion will likely shun our actions. At worst, the League is prepared to disavow all of us here, entirely, on my orders."

The heroes assembled looked to each other gravely. Only Superman, oddly enough, seemed completely unfazed about the prospect of becoming an outlaw.

"I wouldn't ask this of you - of any of you - if I thought this mission was possible by myself. I don't have a plan, for once. Cadmus has locked down this facility tighter than the Watchtower itself, and thanks to Black Canary's brash actions, they will likely be on high alert. So, we move now."

Superman crossed his arms. "Raven and I will knock on their front door. See if we can't draw their attention."

Batman nodded, and looked at the person with the futuristic bat-themed armor. "Lucas, you'll go with them. Cadmus employs automated security ever since their genomorph program was...terminated. You'll be able to attack with impunity."

Batgirl hummed. "What about the rest of us?"

"We'll slip in through the chaos. Infiltrate the facility while they deal with this attack. Cadmus is constant when it comes to their design philosophy; Nightwing will very likely be held in the lower levels, where their research projects are least legal."

We all grimaced at the thought, but I could feel their determination slowly outweigh any of their other emotions.

Batman surveyed all of us, then nodded ever so slightly. "We move out in ten. Be ready."

The circle broke, and we all dispersed. I decided to stick with Superman, since I didn't really care for the rest of the Bat's family. "I expected you to pipe up." -Clark said, eventually. "This is...a lot, for someone who's tried to stay away from heroics as long as you have."

"Do I look like I care about my legal status? I don't even have a real social security number, Superman." -I said.

He smirked a bit. "Okay, fair point. But still, you haven't done anything like this since the Titans disbanded. It's a pretty serious mission."

"I'm not that rusty." -I said, slightly offended. "And besides, this is about letting loose. I can do that."

He looked wistful. "I admit, it's not something I often get to do."

"What about you?" -I wondered. "You seem pretty blasé for someone who's about to break half the rules he fought to establish."

"I try not to worry about these things. This is the right thing to do, I can feel it." -he said. "Maybe there's a less destructive way to save Dick, but speed is of the essence, here. We can't afford to plan ahead."

I snorted. "What do you want to bet this is a trap?"

He grinned. "Probably. Then again, it's been a while since I actually fell for a trap. It's fun; a classic, really."

"You say that now. See how you feel when you're about to get stabbed with a kryptonite sword."

"Ah, but I'm not alone in this, am I?" -he knowingly asked. "Why would I be worried when you're gonna be with me the whole time?"

The entrance to Cadmus' underground facility was, boringly enough, an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Gotham City. I quickly felt for feeling minds, and found none. Superman tried to listen for heartbeats, and heard nothing but machinery. As Batman had predicted, nothing living was defending this place.

Lucas - Gotham Knight, I think was his alias - flew high above the warehouse, then started hovering in place. From his shoulder pads, dozens of micro-missiles burst and flew downwards, bombarding the warehouse and reducing most of it to rubble. Superman hurtled down to Earth like a particularly colorful comet, making the ground shake when he touched down. Almost immediately, dozens of robots poured out from the bunker-like structure beneath, their frames shaped like modernized ancient greek warriors.

The three of us got to work; Lucas mowed down the robots closest to him with plasma bolts, and Clark made good use of his heat vision, melting off their heads and limbs. I floated beside him, and expanded my aura as much as I dared.

"Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" -I roared, feeling that drunken sensation of overwhelming power course through me, reaching out and grabbing the tin soldiers with raven's talons, crushing them like cans.

When I opened my eyes, Superman was staring at me, awe-struck. "What?" -I asked, self-conscious.

"Oh. Nothing, I've just never fought alongside you." -he said. "You're really good at this."

I rolled my eyes, hoping my slight maroon blush passed off as exertion. "Are you permanently stuck in pep-talk mode?"

Lucas snorted behind me. "Well, that was easy. Batman says they're in." -he informed us, nudging a fallen robot with his armor-clad foot.

A slight warping sound above us drew our attention. Perched on a broken steel beam, Red X looked down on us.

I frowned, annoyed. "I don't suppose you've come to help."

He shook his head. "Nope. Here on assignment, I'm afraid. Just waiting for the bunker to bust."

Superman floated up, and so did I. "Jason. What do you mean?"

Todd was clearly taken aback by Superman's recognition, and looked at me, cocking his head. "I see the secret's out. And here I thought I could trust a kindred soul."

I narrowed my eyes. "Nothing kindred about us, I don't think. Besides, I didn't say anything."

He hummed, ignoring half of what I said. "Nothing? Don't give me that crap. We're outcasts amongst freaks. The one oddity that didn't ever manage to fit in with the rest. Batman abandoned me, and the Titans left you behind. We are alone."

"Clearly, you've never met the newest Robin." -I said, scathing. "We're only alone because we choose to be, Jason. Your family would take you back in a heartbeat, if they knew who you were. And even though the Titans are no longer together, I have people I could turn to, if I chose to do so." -I said, glancing at a very proud looking Clark.

He seemed to sneer. "Hype yourself up all you want. They'll never trust you, never truly accept you. You'll be left behind, like I was. You'll understand then."

I sighed. If anything, I felt pity for this self-hating little man before me. "You didn't come here to try and turn me to the Dark Side. Say what you're here to say and begone."

He chuckled. "As I said, I'm here on assignment. Cadmus is very thorough when it comes to cleaning up after themselves, but my employer assures me I'll find something of value in this soon-to-be wreckage."

I felt my stomach drop. Clark must've thought the same thing, because he bolted towards the entrance. I knew he wouldn't reach it in time as soon as Jason teleported away.

On the bright side, I knew exactly what to do.

Timelessness was not a natural quirk of Azarath's dimension. Azar had changed the very fabric of reality as it existed there, halting tachyons in their tracks, stopping the flow of Time altogether. It was not magic devoid of sacrifice; whereas the other inhabitants of Azarath were free to come and go as they pleased - rare though it was that they ever left - Azar herself had become soulbound with the realm, unable to ever leave, even in death. The other ghosts may have been physically tied to the ashes of Azarath, but Azar's fate was a thousand times worse: she had become part of the realm. It was her immortal soul which kept Azarath together, for all eternity, ever burning.

Sometimes, when I meditated, I could feel her endless, mindless suffering. Even on Earth.

Some good had come of this tragedy, however; I had learned how to make something, someone, or some place Timeless. It had served me well before, when Slade had nearly destroyed the Titans in service to my father. With it, I'd now save the Batman and his ilk.

A blue aura of pure power surrounded me, as the Timelessness burst from the core of my being and washed over everything around me. Lucas froze just as he touched the side of his helmet to warn Batman, and Superman appeared to have become a blur, stuck in the midst of a burst of super speed. I grunted with effort, as the aura expanded to cover the entire facility.

It was not easy, concentrating enough to use my usual powers while stopping the flow of time, but I managed to drop down through the floor and into the facility. It was beautiful, really; I'd managed to stop time just as the explosion began, and thus there were only a few gouts of flame and the beginnings of cracks along the walls and floors, the massive forces at play only barely held back.

Blood started to drip from my nose, unsurprisingly. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep this up for too long; I wasn't very attuned to this sort of magic, after all. I quickly searched for the infiltration team, thankful that they'd only just entered a minute prior. They were all mercifully close by, only a few stories down.

Phasing down to the next floor and gritted my teeth; there were a few defeated robots, like the ones outside, but there were also humans - scientists in lab coats and security guards, quickly and efficiently knocked out, all of whom we had somehow missed in our 'scan' of the building. I knew I wouldn't be able to save them and the bats, not at the rate the pressure in my head was building, or the blood in my nose was flowing.

I left them behind.

I dropped down to the next floor, audibly grunting in pain and roughly collapsing on the cold, metal floor. Batman, Robin (the third one, whoever he was), Batgirl, and Batwoman were all in the middle of fighting a few guards, bullets and taser prongs stuck floating alongside smoke pellets and batarangs. I struggled to rise, then tapped Batman, nullifying the effect of the Timelessness.

He only seemed confused for the shortest of moments. "It was a trap." -he surmised.

"Yep." -I said. "Red X warned me just before the building blew. Er...is blowing."

He narrowed his eyes. "This is taking a toll on you." -he immediately changed the subject. "I thought you could hold this effect much more easily."

I snorted. "Sure, on my 15th birthday, when my powers were almost at their peak. I'm rusty and my Father is gone, Batman. I'm still strong, it just doesn't come as easily anymore."

"How much longer?"

"Couple of minutes. Maybe."

"Can you get to Dick?" -he asked me, the barest hint of vulnerability in his tone.

I cursed under my breath. For a panicked second, I'd forgotten the whole point of this mission. "No. But I'll do it anyway. Move, Wayne." -I said, then left him to wake the rest of the vigilantes up.

In retrospect, I should've probably just stopped time, tapped Superman awake, and let him do...well, everything. Hell, he might've even been able to stop the explosion altogether. Maybe back when I was a heroine and actively sought to use my powers in the most efficient way possible, I would've thought of that. Put on the spot, however, I instantly decided to shoulder all the work.

That was a mistake.

By the time I reached an elevator shaft - hey, at least I thought of a way to not need to phase through every single floor - I was a bloody, sweaty, teary mess. I tried to float down to the bottom as gently as I could, but only succeeded in halting my fall every couple of seconds. It was a bumpy ride, to say the least. Finally, though, I reached the bottom. Blasting the door open, I reached a lab.

In that lab, there were three people. One, thank Azar, I recognized as Dick Grayson. He looked alright - a little thinner than usual, but healthy and decked out in full Nightwing regalia - halfway through a swing directed at a man in black and blue armor, with a golden helmet and shield. Guardian, I think. I'd heard through Jinx that the man was somehow related to Cadmus, so that checked out.

The other was Klarion, the Witch Boy. And he was staring right at me.

Fortunately, he didn't seem to have escaped the effects of my spell. I moved out of his field of view and he didn't seem to track me. Still, walking beside him, I couldn't help but feel the tension - I could just imagine him faking me out, stabbing me in the back as soon as I deemed it safe. It didn't happen, though, and I finally managed to reach Nightwing, tapping him on the shoulder.

He blinked a couple of times. "Whoa. Serious deja vu." -he said, then looked at me. He smirked. "Hey Rachel. It's been a while."

I smiled through the pain, almost unbearable now. "Hey yourself. I hope you don't mind, but we're going to have to endure an explosion now."

Before he could ask what I meant, I dropped the spell, encircled us in a dome of obsidian energy, and braced for the blast.

I suppose I could plug my Ko-fi but that'd be kinda shameless in this story. Anyway, I think this chapter came out a bit rushed, but between that and not having a chapter, I prefer this. At least the plot is moving along now, right?