Disclaimer: I do no own the Justice League or associated content, characters, etc, etc.

Kudos to anyone who can spot references to the Superman the Animated Series episode "Where There's Smoke".

Last chapter got a review stating that Hector seemed a little too perfect, so I tried being mindful of that while writing this one. ***Obviously it's going to be me who decides what actually happens in this story, but I will at least consider what others have to say.**

Anyway, I was a little surprised that no one brought up Edna Mode from The Incredibles and her "No Capes!" rant, given that moment when Bane grabs Hector's cape during their fight.

Besides that, I've finally settled on what name to give Hector's alter-ego. Thanks to everyone who pitched in. If you want to know what it is... then read on. :-)

Enjoy!

Burn Baby Burn

The day after his 'adventure' in Gotham had Hector returning home following an uneventful shift at work. Walking into the apartment, he saw Cassandra sitting at the table, waiting for him with impatience, if the speed her foot was shaking was any indication. "If you were shaking your foot any faster, it'd snap off and fly across the room," Hector commented as he closed the door behind him. "What's up?"

"Well, I had an interesting conversation with one of my classmates whose uncle is a police officer in Gotham. Apparently, that guy who took down Blockbuster last Saturday, also did the same to Bane and his crew just last night."

"Indeed he has."

"Why? It's not like you to seek out conflict or play hero like that. Look… I may not be as smart as you, but I know you pretty well, and I know you wouldn't do something like this without a reason."

"It's a question of image," Hector answered, taking a seat at the table with her. "It would look suspicious if 'the other guy' only shows up when you're in trouble. The idea is to pass off as someone who acts at random, hence, the outfit, the cape, fighting in the name of Ares…"

"Plus, making an appearance in Gotham while 'Hector Anderson' was supposedly at home would give you an alibi. Speaking of which, how'd you even get all the way to Gotham and back in one night? For that matter, how'd you know where to find Bane?"

"Marc showed up last night. He knew where Bane and his men were, and when I asked, he dropped me off and brought me back home afterwards."

"Cool. So… what's for supper?"

Later that week, having put the finishing touches on the last dress for Amaya's mother, Hector was walking down the street to deliver it to her in person. "Konichiwa, Hector-san," (Hello, Hector) she greeted him with a short bow as he walked into her shop.

"Konichiwa, Sakura-san," (Hello, Sakura) Hector said, returning the bow. "I come bearing gifts." He then set the bag he was carrying onto the counter, allowing Sakura to remove the dress inside and look over his work. "Or gift, singular, if you care to split hairs."

"Wonderful, it's no surprise you're my favorite seamstress. So how can I repay you?"

"Well, I was thinking I'd like to make a Christmas gift for my girlfriend. I know it seems a little early, but work usually keeps me busy during the holidays, and I want to make something special for her, so I figured I start sooner rather than later."

"I remember Amaya mentioned you have a special lady friend. What's her favorite color?"

"Royal blue."

"Come with me, I have just the thing for you." Sakura lead Hector to the back of the shop, where she gave him a splendid looking bolt of royal blue silk, as well as a photo. "I wore this when I married Amaya's father. I thought you could use it to give yourself a little inspiration."

"Thank you."

The sound of someone walking into the shop caught Sakura's attention. "Take whatever else you think you might need, I will go take care of my customers." Hector looked at the various materials for a few minutes before making his choices, then went to the counter to get a bag for everything. There he saw Sakura showing off one of the earlier dresses he'd made, putting it in a bag and passing it to an auburn haired woman.

"I've gotta say, this is very nice," the other woman said as she paid for the dress.

"I'm sure the lucky man won't be able to take his eyes off you," Sakura assured her. "But it's actually my friend here who deserves the credit." Hector stood still as the woman turned in his direction, surprised to see a face bearing an uncanny resemblance to his ex-girlfriend, Sara. For her part, she was shocked to see the man from the photo Supergirl had shown her and the others, the man Zatanna had been dating for months. "He's the one who made your dress."

"Really? You don't see too many men who know how to work a needle so well," Shayera remarked, shaking off her surprise. "I'm Shiera Hall, by the way."

"Hector Anderson."

"Ah… you must be Cassandra's older brother, am I right?"

"Yeah, she told me she ran into you a while back."

"Well, it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." The arrival of a customer waiting for Sakura prompted him to grab the bag into which she'd placed the things he'd gathered, then leave with a quick goodbye.

"Hey, Hector," Shiera called out as she joined him outside.

"Yes?"

"I was just going to grab a bite to eat. Care to join me? I'd like to talk with you some more."

"Actually, I was planning on-"

"I'm buying. Please, I insist."

"… You're not going to take 'no' for an answer, are you?"

"No."

"In that case, lead the way."

Twenty minutes later, Hector and Shiera were sitting at a table together in a quiet little restaurant. Both of them were eating quietly, neither one having said a word since the waitress had taken their orders. 'What exactly has Cassandra told you about me?' Hector wondered. 'Hope she hasn't said too much, or it could make things uncomfortable. Then again, I'm hardly any better, seeing how I spilled the beans to Kory about my past relationship with her sister. Feel pretty stupid for letting my curiosity get the best of me, although I probably still have a better chance of denying that I knew Alice was an alien. Sara however… if Shiera figures out that I was sleeping with her sister, then I'd have no chance at all, since her wings would give it away. Speaking of… Shiera must have some kind of cloaking device on her, considering I can't see her wings right now. Hmm… that bracelet she's wearing seems like a likely candidate.'

At the same time, Shiera was having her own internal dialogue. 'So you're the guy who used to go out with Sara during her time on Earth. Just how well did you know her, M. Anderson? Did you know about her being from Thanagar? Obviously if the two of you were… intimate, then there's no way you wouldn't know she isn't human, since her wings would've given it away. And that song Cassandra said that she'd sing her to sleep with, that must be the lullaby mother used to sing to me and Sara.' "So... I understand that you used to go out with my sister Sara."

"It was a long time ago, but yes. I take it Cassandra told you about us?"

"She did. How did the two of you meet?"

"Funny story, that. I was thirteen at the time, and one day at the market we happened to run into each other, literally. Being the mature teenagers we both were at the time, we argued, got into a bit of a fight, then my mother took us both home to patch us up, after which she ended up living with my mother, sister and I."

"Rough start," Shiera commented. "How close were you?"

"Fairly close," Hector said dismissively. "Once we got past those first impressions of each other, we got along well."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened that the two of you broke up?"

"Honestly… I have no idea. I went to wake her up one morning and she was gone. She did leave a note behind, but there was nothing to-"

"'May the winds of fate be kind to you. My heart, my love.' Did she write those words?"

Despite feeling a little uncomfortable from the way she was staring at him straight in the eyes, as if she was peering into his soul, Hector still managed to keep his cool. "Yes."

Shiera had a pensive look on her face at this, thinking about how on Thanagar the use of those words signified a deep bond between two people. "Did you and Sara ever sleep together?"

Hector blinked several times, having been caught off guard by the sudden inquiry. "Ah-hem, may I ask why the question?"

"Sara wouldn't have written those words unless she cared deeply for you. Given that, I can't help but wonder if… you know…"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not entirely comfortable discussing this subject with you."

'Alright, if that's how you wanna play it,' Shiera thought to herself, eyes narrowed in suspicion. She then grabbed her 'bracelet' and slowly began to slide it off, until Hector put his hand on top of hers.

"Stop, you win."

Up in the Justice League's orbital headquarters, Wonder Woman had just returned from a mission and grabbed an ice mocha from the Watchtower cafeteria when she saw Zatanna sitting at a table with the Flash and, remembering her deal with Bruce, decided to join them to see what she could dig up. As she approached them, the words 'mystery man' reached her ears, perking her curiosity. "Mind if I join you both?"

"Sure thing, Diana, have a seat," Wally offered.

"Thank you. So, what's this about a 'mystery man'?"

"You heard that?" Zatanna asked.

"Superman isn't the only one with good hearing."

"This 'mystery man' is Zatanna's new boyfriend," Wally jumped in. "Well, maybe not that new, seeing how she's been going out with this guy for months now."

"Congratulations, Zatanna," Diana said, guessing that this must be what they were hiding from Batman, and thinking to herself about how easy it was for her to find out. "You deserve to have someone in your life. He's a good man, I hope?"

"Yeah, he's great," she replied with a smile.

"Come on, tell us more," Wally said, leaning forward with an eager look on his face. "No need to be stingy with the details. How about his name, for starters?"

"Remind me again, who was it that blabbed about him to Nightwing?"

"… Fair point. Speaking of Nightwing, have either of you heard about what happened in Bludhaven last weekend?"

"No, what is it?" Diana asked.

"Some Greek warrior dude fought Blockbuster in a mall and beat him. The media's already taken to calling this guy 'Spartan', which is kind of funny, since he looks more like one of the Athenian warriors from 300: Rise of an Empire, given the blue cape. But I'll admit, 'Spartan' does sound cooler than 'Athenian'."

"I've not actually seen this movie, but I do know that it has a number of historical inaccuracies," Diana said. "For one, real Greek warrior at the time did not go into battle shirtless, they wore armor."

"I saw a news report on TV about what happened," Zatanna spoke up. "Apparently this guy Spartan claimed he was fighting for Ares. Or, at least, after defeating Blockbuster he shouted something in Greek that pretty much equates with that."

"If this warrior truly does fight for Ares, then he could be trouble. So why have I only heard of him now? Why isn't the League over this?"

"We don't know for sure if this guy really is working for Ares, or if he's just saying that. Besides, so far he hasn't done much."

"Although, Bruce isn't too happy with him messing around in Gotham," Wally mentioned.

"Oh? What happened?" Diana inquired.

"Apparently Spartan took out Bane and his thugs a few nights back. He didn't kill them," he added upon noticing the frown on her face. "But we all know how Bruce gets when someone horns in on his turf."

"Indeed we do." The three of them continued talking for a while longer, until Diana excused herself, intending to go to Gotham to inform Bruce about Zatanna's mystery boyfriend, and to collect her reward.

Back with Hector and Shiera, the two of them were still sitting in the restaurant, the former scowling while the latter had a smug look on her face. "You know, you're starting to remind me of Batman when he's brooding," Shiera commented teasingly. "Which would be most of the time."

"Congratulations," Hector shot back sarcastically. "Do you really have to be so smug about it?"

"It was a good effort on your part," she replied with a sweet smile, prompting him to scowl even more.

"You truly are Sara's sister. When we first met, I used to think she was full of herself."

"How'd you find out the truth about her anyway?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Why? Did you stumble upon her when she was naked?"

"…"

"Pff! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"…"

"How'd she take it?"

"…"

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah." A moment of silence reigned between the two of them, until Hector spoke up again. "You know, I can understand you'd be surprised at hearing my name, since Cassandra told you I used to go out with your sister, but your reaction upon seeing my face would suggest that you recognized me. Now, seeing how we've never met before, that begs the question: How?"

"Seems only sporting. I recognized your face because someone showed me a photo of you."

Hector raised an eyebrow in question at this. "That in itself doesn't explain your reaction. I've done nothing to… You wouldn't happen to be friends with Zatanna, would you?"

"I'm friends with a number of people in the League, not so much with Plastic Man, because he's annoying as hell."

"Don't bother pretending. My relationship with Zatanna is the only reason I can see why the Justice League would show any particularly interest in me." 'I can't imagine any of them already know about my alter-ego, and I seriously doubt Wonder Woman would go around telling people about when she was transformed by Circe.'

"You're not so bad at detective work yourself."

"Thanks. By the way, I'd appreciate it if you didn't go around telling everyone about me and Zatanna. For that matter, I think she'd appreciate it too."

"Sure, no problem." A beeping sound from Shiera's pocket had her pull out her phone and check the screen before turning off the alarm. "I should get going now. I need to get ready for... work."

"One last thing before you run off," Hector said. "I'd appreciate it if you also kept my relationship with your sister a secret."

"I think I can manage that, but you should probably tell Zatanna sometime."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Nice meeting you, Hector."

"Fly fast and fight strong, Shayera Hol," Hector said in Thanagarian.

Now dressed in civilian clothes, though she looked stunning nonetheless, Wonder Woman was currently standing at the doors to Wayne Manor. Giving a short knock, it took but a brief moment before someone answered the door, 'someone' being Damian Wayne, instead of Alfred Pennyworth. "Amazon," the young boy said curtly. "What do you want?"

"Hello, Damian," she replied politely despite his rough manners. "Is Bruce here?"

"No, he isn't. Now go away."

"Put a sock in it, Damian," Tim Drake spoke up as he joined the two of them at the door. "Hey Diana, sorry about him. You here to see Bruce?"

"Yes, I'd like to have a word with him, if possible."

"I already told you he's not here," Damian insisted.

"He's down in the basement," Tim said, ignoring him. "Would you like me to show you the way?"

"Tim had sex with Wonder Girl," Damian pitched in.

"What! No I didn't!" Tim protested.

"Oh yeah? Well it's painfully obvious you're just trying to get into her good graces because you're dating her sidekick."

"Shut up, you little brat! And since when are you such an expert on relationships?"

Diana quietly slipped past them as they degenerated into a heated argument, making her way into the Batcave, where she found Bruce working at a computer. "Diana," he greeted her, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"I hope you don't have any plans for the evening Bruce, because you're taking me out tonight." Putting his work on hold, Bruce turned around in his chair to look at her, a questioning look on her face. "Are you still interested in knowing what Wally, Dinah, Shayera and Mari are hiding from you?"

"What is it?"

Diana smiled in response and wagged her finger at him. "Uh, uh, uh, dinner first."

"… Alright, how do you feel about Italian?"

While hanging out at home with her friend Sally, the two girls were interrupted when Cassandra received a call on her phone from her brother. "Wassup, doc?"

"Nothing much, just dropped off the last dress Sakura asked for, and I wanted to make sure you didn't burn down the whole apartment building while I was gone."

"Har, har. You know I'm not that helpless, right?"

"Of course I do, I'm just pulling your leg. Hey, you know your friends Kara, Courtney and Mary? Do any of them strike you as having a penchant for mischief?"

"Why'd you ask?" Cassandra inquired, curious.

"Well, I already get enough teasing out of you, and I was just wondering if I should be worried about them."

"Kara's probably the one you should worry about the most," Sally pitched in. "She and Cassandra are pretty like-minded."

"I kind of feel like maybe I should be offended," Cassandra said uncertainly.

"The 'incident' happened years ago, and yet you still keep making fun of your brother because of it," Sally reminded her. "And Kara did take a photo of your brother 'dancing' with his girlfriend that night at the club."

"Huh… I guess Kara and I really are alike."

"Thanks for the warning," Hector said.

"So when are you going to come home?" Cassandra inquired.

"I should be back before long."

"Ok then. See you soon."

At the moment, Hector was at the library, doing research on the internet. The reason for this was what Shiera had said, about someone showing her a photo of him, reinforced by Sally having just informed him about Kara taking a photo of him and Zatanna at the club. Logging onto Facebook, he accessed Cassandra's profile and scrolled through her list of friends until he came across the name Kara Kent. Paranoia began to stew about in his brain as he stared at a photo of the teenage girl from Smallville. Making sure no one was watching, he opened a window next to it and pulled up a photo of Supergirl. If he'd been merely paranoid a moment ago, looking at the two photos side by side had Hector feeling entirely suspicious, the uncanny resemblance practically screaming at him. 'Alright, just calm down,' he thought to himself. 'It's probably for the best if I wait until I have the chance to confirm my suspicions. Although, this does raise certain questions about Mary and Courtney…'

Hector returned to Cassandra's list of Facebook friends and began to look through it for the other two girls, but suddenly stopped when he noticed that the library was even quieter than usual. Looking up from the computer screen, he saw that all the men nearby, along with most of the women, were eyeing an impossibly beautiful woman. Making her way towards him, she sat down in a nearby chair and gave him a bright smile. "Hello Hector."

"Anna, nice to see you again," he replied, smiling back at her.

"As it is to see you, little brother. How are things with Zatanna?"

"We've both been busy, so we haven't been able to each other in a few weeks, but things are going pretty well, and we're supposed to meet up again this weekend."

"That's great. You two have gotten closer since the last time we spoke, haven't you?"

"Yeah…" Hector replied, a bit of a blush on his cheeks.

"Oh my, you've gotten close indeed," Anna noted with a grin.

"Ah-hem, not exactly 'that' close. So what brings you here anyway?"

"Would you believe me if I said I just wanted to see my sweet little brother?" she asked, sounding particularly sweet and innocent.

"Normally, yes, but the way you said that just now wasn't particularly convincing."

Anna pouted for a moment, then developed a more serious expression on her face. "I need your help. Diana stole my favorite necklace."

"Why would she do that?"

"Well, we may have gotten into an argument, during which I may have made a few comments about her decision to remain chaste forever, and I may have also insisted that she should really get laid."

"I can see why she'd be upset." Anna gave him a sullen look at this. "Sorry. Please continue."

"After taking my necklace, she disposed of it somewhere in the city. Here's what it looks like." She then passed him a photo of a heart shaped ruby hanging on a gold chain, clearly the work of a master. "It has no real power, but Valen made this as a gift for our first wedding anniversary."

"If you don't mind me asking, why haven't you gone to Polly with this? She has a number of friends, more than a few of whom would surely be happy to help, not to mention her daughter. Isn't she the person you and the others normally go to when you need a champion?"

"I'd rather avoid disclosing how valuable the necklace is to me. Also, Polly's daughter has a date with M. Tall, Dark and Handsome in Gotham, and I threatened to cause bodily harm to anyone who disturbs them. Help me, Hector Anderson. You're my only hope."

"… Did you just quote Star Wars?"

"That line is a classic, and it seemed appropriate."

"I didn't even realize you liked movies. Sure, I'll help you out. After all, this necklace is clearly important to you, and what kind of man would I be if I didn't help my big sister when she needed me?"

Anna smiled sincerely and got up to give him a hug. "Thank you, Hector, and good luck."

As Anna turned around and left, Hector grabbed his phone and called his sister. "Hey, it's me again. I just wanted to let you know that something's come up, and I might be back late."

Somewhere in the rougher parts of town was a pawn shop run by a sleazy man named Kurt, who, despite doing legitimate business, was known to sell stolen goods. Kurt was leaning on the counter, all by himself and having thoughts about closing up early, when Hector walked in, wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses, which Kurt though was strange, given the fading light outside. Of course, short of trying them on himself, he couldn't have known that they weren't ordinary sunglasses. "G'day, sir, whatcha lookin' for?"

"Information. A friend of mine recently had a necklace stolen, and she asked me to find it for her." He then showed Kurt the photo Anna had given him. "Have you seen it?"

"Nope, haven't seen it," Kurt quickly replied.

"That's unfortunate. Thanks for your time," Hector said, putting the photo back in his pocket and holding his hand out for him to shake. Kurt grabbed the offered hand, only for Hector to grip it uncomfortably hard. "I know for a fact that, 1: You're lying, and 2: You sell stolen goods in this dump. Now, again, have you seen the necklace?"

"A girl brought it in sometime this morning. She was short and looked young, but still kind of intimidating."

"Where is it now?"

"I sold it a couple hours back."

"Who bought it?"

"I can't tell you, customer privacy and all that. Of course, if you'd like to make me an offer…"

In response, Hector squeezed his hand a little tighter and said: "I'm offering not to call the police."

"Okay fine, if you could just let go of my hand first." Hector released Kurt's hand, the sleazy businessman massaging his sore appendage.

"I sold it to a girl named Claire Casco who frequents a bar downtown called the Wallflower almost every evening."

"Thanks for your cooperation," Hector said, before turning around and walking away.

A little later, Hector was seated at a table at the Wallflower, having just dissuaded a rowdy patron from harassing one of the waitresses, who had brought him a free soda as thanks, and was sitting with him, as she was on her break. "So what brings a guy like you to a place like this?"

"I'm trying to find a stolen necklace that belongs to a friend of mine."

"Any luck so far?"

"The last guy I talked to sold it to a girl named Claire Casco. Said she's a regular here. Have you seen her recently?"

"Yeah, came in earlier, left about an hour ago."

"Did she have this necklace with her?" Hector asked, showing her the photo.

"Sure thing, she was wearing it 'round 'er neck."

"Do you know where I can find her?" Before the waitress could answer, a woman stumbled in through the door, clutching her arm.

"Claire!" the waitress called out, rushing to her side with a few other people. "Are y'alright? What 'appened?"

"I was walkin' home, mindin' my own business, when some bitch came after me behind that restaurant at Faith and Flower. When I came 'round, she'd taken all I had, 'cept the clothes I'm wearing."

"What she look like?"

"Tall, trench coat, dressed in red, and had a serious mane o' red hair. Look what that bitch did to me." The woman, Claire, showed everyone her injured arm, which sported a burn mark in the shape of a hand.

"Oh shit! Hey, someone call 911!" As the bar's patrons and staff dealt with the situation, no one noticed Hector quietly slipping outside.

Walking but a short distance, he soon arrived at the spot the woman claimed to have been attacked. Using his shades' infrared vision, he could see a pair of bright red and yellow footprints on the ground. "Hmm… Sounds like the attacker might have been Volcana." Moving onto the sidewalk, Hector took to asking people nearby if they'd seen a woman of the description Claire had provided, while omitting that she was quite likely a meta-human criminal, and eventually came across a homeless man with helpful information.

"Yeah, I seen a woman like that. Passed by less'un an hour ago. She was headin' toward that old abandoned mansion up on Selton Street."

"Thanks for the tip," Hector said, giving the man his last five dollars and heading in the direction he'd indicated.

When he finally arrived at the abandoned mansion in question, Hector used his sunglasses' infrared vision again to peer inside the building. And in doing so he saw a single person, one giving off an unusual heat signature. "Must be Volcana," he said to himself. "Looks like it's time for Spartan to take over from here." Ducking into an alleyway, he proceeded to change into his alter-ego and hide his stuff behind a dumpster, then quickly sneak into the mansion. Equipped with his shield, he quietly crept through the old building like a mouse stealing cheese, slowly making his way towards Volcana's location. Arriving at one of the bedrooms, he glanced through his sunglasses to confirm Volcana was indeed there, before putting them away and entering the room with nary a sound, seeing the woman lying on the bed, apparently asleep.

However, it soon became apparent that she was not sleeping, when she suddenly hurled a fireball at him. Spartan managed to block it with his shield in time, though the attack was still powerful enough to lift him off his feet and send him crashing through the wall into the next room. Quickly getting back up, Spartan walked back into the bedroom through the newly made hole in the wall, very much on guard as Volcana stood up from the bed. The two of them stood still on opposite sides of the room, Spartan taking notice of Aphrodite's necklace dangling around the fiery woman's neck. "You're good, I'll give you that," Volcana spoke up. "If I hadn't sensed your heat signature just now, I'd never have known you were there. Who the hell are you anyway?"

Spartan answered her only with the words: "Gia ti dóxa ton Théon." (For the glory of the Gods)

In response, Volcana ignited her hands and said: "Have it your way."

Half a second later, Spartan dove to the side and rolled to avoid a fireball aimed at his head, then, opting to avoid combat in such close quarters, he barreled through the door he'd first used to enter the room, with Volcana in hot pursuit. Spartan ran through the long hallway, dodging several of Volcana's attacks and smashing his way into a side door when she shot out a blast of fire. Ending up in a library, Spartan quickly deactivated his shield to climb one of the tall bookshelves, making nary a sound as he sat perched on top. Volcana entered a moment later, a fireball in one hand to provide more illumination than simply moonlight. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," she sang tauntingly, moving about the room on high alert. "I promise not to hurt you… much." A squeaking rat drew the meta-human's attention to Spartan's location, forcing him to leap from his perch to avoid a fireball that incinerated the unfortunate vermin. His momentum then brought him into contact with the top of the next bookshelf, causing it to topple over.

Spartan nimbly jumped off as it came crashing down within a hair's breadth of Volcana, who'd just thrown herself out of the way. Grabbing a book, Spartan threw it at the super-villainess, who countered with a fireball just before it struck her face, only to collide with another bookshelf when he landed a flying kick to her chest. "You wanna play rough? Fine!" Volcana then slammed her hands onto the floor and unleashed her powers downward. The library floor quickly collapsed in a blaze of fire, sending the two fighters, the furniture and everything else tumbling down into the dining room below.

Spartan picked himself off the floor with a grunt, transforming his watch back into a shield as he looked for Volcana amidst the flaming debris. Her position was revealed when she sent a blast of fire straight at him, prompting him to block her attack with his shield once more. However, unlike the first shot, this time she poured out a steady stream of fire, his surroundings leaving him with few options other than to keep blocking it. And for all that his shield withstood the flames undamaged, being made of celestial bronze, Volcana's unrelenting attack began to build up heat. 'Can't take this much longer,' Spartan thought to himself, gritting his teeth as he felt it in his arm. 'Need to do something now.' Reaching into his utility belt with one hand, he tossed an explosive pellet in Volcana's direction with an overhead throw. The ensuing bang proved enough to halt Volcana's attack, allowing Spartan to jump over a pile of flaming debris.

"Hey! Where'd you think you're going!?" Volcana shouted. Spartan stopped at the door, deactivating his shield and removing it from his wounded arm, then turned around to face Volcana long enough to make an offensive gesture. "Okay, now you're asking for it!" Spartan ran fast as she gave chase, leading her into the mansion's expansive ballroom. There he stood in the middle of the room and armed himself with his bow, holding a silver arrow ready to fly. The angry pyro-kinetic held a massive fireball in each hand as she advanced on her opponent, who suddenly aimed low and released his arrow, hitting the fire extinguisher at Volcana's feet, which began to spray her with foam all over, effectively putting out her flames and causing her to slip and fall down. Several seconds later, she got up on her knees, wiped her face off with her hands and looked up to see Spartan standing right in front of her, very much imposing and intimidating. "You wouldn't hit a lady, would you?"

Spartan suddenly lashed out with his fist, hitting her in the head hard enough to knock her out cold. He then knelt down, grabbed Aphrodite's necklace and yanked it off of her. "Yes, I would."

Over at their apartment, Cassandra found herself waking up in the middle of the night. Letting out a tired yawn, she soon realized she could hear the sound of running water coming from the kitchen. Pulling herself from her bed, she walked into the apartment's main room, where she saw her shirtless brother washing his arm in the sink. "Wow, you sure weren't kidding when you said you'd be back late," Cassandra remarked drowsily. "What happened to your arm?"

"I'll explain in a minute. Can you get me the special burn ointment and a roll of gauze, please?" Obliging her brother's request, Cassandra went to the bathroom and removed the desired items from the medicine cabinet, setting them on the counter next to him as he patted his arm dry with a hand towel.

"So…?"

"Anna came to see me when I was at the library earlier today, and she asked me to recover a stolen necklace for her," Hector explained as he continued treating his burn. "Long story short, I tracked down the necklace, ended up fighting Volcana, and she got a shot in before I knocked her out."

"Volcana… isn't she a Superman villain?"

"Last I checked, yeah."

"Huh, you're starting to make a name for yourself. Or rather, Spartan is."

"I guess so. That aside, did you have fun with Sally?"

"Yeah, it was fun. We were thinking we might check out that old abandoned mansion on Selton Street this weekend."

"That seems unlikely."

"Wadda you mean by that?"

"I just fought a fire happy super-villain there. It's currently in the process of burning to the ground."

"Oh…" Hector then finished wrapping gauze around his burn and set the metal clips in place, making sure that it was snug, but not too tight. "Out of curiosity, what are you going to say if someone asks what happened to your arm? You're not gonna blow off your date with Zatanna, are you?"

"No, if anyone asks, I'll just tell them I was cooking and spilled hot water over my arm."

"I guess that works. You know, it's a good thing Axle taught you medicine better than Paul did with music," Cassandra commented jokingly.

"Shut up and go to bed," Hector said lightheartedly, rolling his eyes in amusement. A moment later her arms were wrapped around his waist as she hugged him tightly, prompting him to give her a reassuring hug in return.

"I know you only want me to be safe, but please be careful."

"Don't worry, I will."

There you have it. I hope you all had as much fun reading this chapter as I did writing it (although the fight scene turned out to be tougher than I thought it would). Anyway, please review if you'd like to offer your opinions, suggestions, or just want to comment.