We've got to stop meeting like this.

Sorry (again) for the extremely long wait. Also, shout-out to user Golem XIV for poking me with a review into finishing this chapter. I'll try my best to not leave you hanging for so long next time.

The explosion lasted a good thirty seconds. Lots of flammable materials in the facility, I guess.

It felt like holding up the sky, but I managed to keep the dome steady as debris began to crush it. Nightwing couldn't do much more than watch, his batons held in a useless defensive gesture.

"You're bleeding." -he said, as soon as things settled down.

I grunted. "That is what happens when you abuse magic, yes."

He pursed his lips. "Can you get us out?"

"I don't think I should risk dropping the shield."

"Make a portal under us." -he suggested. "We'll fall through before the building collapses on us."

I blinked. "Damn it. I really am rusty." -I said, annoyed. "I should've thought of that."

The inky void materialized beneath us, and we fell through it with a yelp, the dome dissipating just after we'd crossed the threshold. The shadows spit us out far above, a couple hundred yards south of the destroyed warehouse. I collapsed to my knees, exhausted, but Dick prevented me from fully going prone.

"I've got you." -he reassured me.

I smiled a little. "No, I got you."

He smirked. "I'll admit, I thought that was it for me. I figured Batman would come, but I had no idea he'd bring you." -he said. "Or Superman, for that matter."

I frowned, wiping the blood from my lips and chin with my cape. Crude, but effective. "What the hell was your exit strategy, then?"

"I didn't have one." -he admitted. "When I infiltrated this place, I thought it'd be easy to get out. I didn't realize Klarion had the place on lockdown."

"What do you mean?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You didn't see the runes?"

"No, I was too busy trying to find and save you."

"Well, thank you." -he said. "But yeah, Klarion sealed up the place. Apparently, the Light was fed up with their experiments escaping and bringing attention to their secret bases."

I shook my head. "That doesn't make sense. How did Red X leave, then?"

Dick grew immediately wary. "Red X?"

"I know who he is." -I said, giving him a pointed look. "He told me himself. Then he said you were at a Cadmus lab, and that he'd run into you here."

"Oh." -he said. "Yeah, we tussled a little. Knocked him unconscious. I can't believe he'd tell you his secret identity."

"He also said he knocked you out."

He grinned, smug. "He wishes he'd knocked me out. Then I wouldn't have stopped him from stealing this thing." -he said, pulling out a USB drive from his utility belt. "Every byte of data on the Light's efforts to master trans-dimensional travel."

My stomach dropped. "I was afraid that's what they'd be after. Can't say it's nice to have absolute confirmation."

He nodded grimly. "They've tried everything from Atlantean magic to matching the vibrational frequency of Earths from alternate dimensions." -he explained. "That's what they wanted the sidekicks for; Tula, Terra, Jason...Wally." -he said, relieved. "Their deaths were staged or reversed so they could experiment with their powers to try and punch a hole to other realities."

My mind raced as it put the pieces of the puzzle together. Atlantean magic was extremely powerful and versatile, and sure, I could maybe see Terra's geomantic powers leading to alternate Earths. The Speed Force, too, was obviously known to allow for some physics-breaking stuff, besides the obvious speedster abilities. "Why Jason, though? And Roy, for that matter? How do they figure into this insanity?"

"Roy is just pre-programmed muscle." -he said, a hint of sadness clouding his tone. "It was easy for them to track him down and use the same kind of sleeper commands on him that they used for Red Arrow back in the day."

"And Jason?"

"He...died, for real." -Dick said, pained. "I can't claim to understand it, but the method they used to bring him back was one of the first ways they thought to be the key to travelling across dimensions. That just tells you how long they've been at this; they brought him back almost immediately after the Joker killed him."

"But it's not what they were looking for." -I surmised. "They tried again with the Black Arrow and he wasn't it, either. Human souls must not actually leave this dimension upon death. Wherever your human afterlife is, it must not be a separate reality."

"Sure." -he said, half like he didn't buy it, half like he knew better.

I sighed. "Which brings us to me."

"Right. They want your ability to create portals, Rachel. You can travel between dimensions like it's no more complicated than opening and going through a door."

It's obviously not that simple, but Dick nailed the sentiment. Trigon created me for the sole purpose of breaking free of the dimension of fire and ash that was his prison for thousands of years - and, while having this ability meant bringing his immensely powerful self to Earth took my life, it also left me, after I destroyed him, with the power to travel through the multiverse at my leisure.

"What do we do, then?" -I asked.

"We need to regroup. Figure out our next steps, preferably somewhere the Light can't reach you."

I hummed. "I'd suggest the Watchtower, but I believe I'm currently persona non grata there."

He raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"I got kidnapped by Black Canary. Then I fought Doctor Fate. Just a little." -I said, then rolled my eyes at his obvious concern. "Relax, Superman stopped us from doing any real damage."

"Still." -he said. "Fate I can easily buy, but I can't believe Dinah would do that."

I sighed. "If it helps, I wasn't exactly kind to Arsenal for bringing me out of retirement and shooting Garfield. I banished him to Azarath, and Klarion managed to track him down and take him again before we could get him back. It's my fault that he's still with the bad guys."

Nightwing rubbed his forehead. "Goddamn it, just how much did I miss? We need to take these people down, now."

"Agreed." -Clark said, floating down to us. Batman also approached, but he didn't stop until he reached Dick and pulled him into a genuine - if all too brief - hug.

"I'm...glad you're ok, son." -he said, in the most human tone I'd heard from him yet.

Dick smiled into his cape. "Thanks for coming to get me."

Clark nodded at me. I could see the rest of the approaching Bats, so I gave them the space Superman seemed to be suggesting.

"That was impressive." -he said, once out of earshot. "I doubt I'd have been able to save Bruce and company in time, let alone reach Dick all the way down."

I snorted. "I'm sure you would've found a way."

"You keep selling yourself short, Rachel." -he said, shaking his head. "When, in reality, you're one of the most powerful heroes Earth has ever seen."

My cheeks burned maroon. "If you say so." -I allowed. "I'm just glad he's safe."

He smirked. "Yeah. Now, I believe you have somewhere to be."

I raised an eyebrow. "I do, do I?"

"Cyborg and Changeling are waiting for you two. Go catch up, before the Team gets there and we decide how to take on the Light."

I made a face. "You're sending your junior hit-squad to crash our reunion?"

He chuckled. "They're much more than that, Rachel. They're the future of the Justice League - and a spiritual successor to the Titans. If not for your influence, for your success in proving that, despite your youth and inexperience, you could operate without League supervision, the Team would still be tucked away, allowed to take only on our most minor threats."

"They don't exactly strike me as fans of our work." -I retorted. "Half of them hated me before I even said a word."

"None of them know you. By the time they started their career, the Titans had disbanded." -he said. "So, show them who they're dealing with. Show them, and everyone who doubts you, what it means to be a Titan."

I crossed my arms. "It's not my job to make anyone respect me, Superman." -I said. "But I suppose, if we're going to beat these pretentious bastards for good, I could try being slightly more cooperative."

He gave me a thumbs-up. "That's the spirit!"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure. Just tell me where to go."

"What better place to host a Titans reunion? Go to Titans Tower, Raven. We'll catch up."