Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League. Simple as that.

Note: This chapter is influenced by the show "Lucifer" (great show, it's on Netflix, I highly recommend it), and there's a bunch of references to it.

This chapter has some mature-ish content, so I decided to change the rating to "M".

Also, as I'm posting this it's past midnight and I'm in a hurry, so sorry about any mistakes, inconsistencies or whatever.

Enjoy.

Sex, Drugs & Murder

A few days after meeting Poseidon's daughter Penelope in New York, Hector was back to his routine. After work he'd gone to help Vladimir and his brothers, and once that was done he'd returned to his apartment, where he was greeted to the sight of a long leg in a fishnet stocking rising up over the back of the couch. Walking over the edge of the couch, he saw Zatanna dressed in her magician's outfit, lying there in a flirtatious pose with a sly grin on her face. "Well, you're not who I was expecting," Hector said, grinning back at her.

"If you're referring to your sister, she's having a sleepover at her friend's place," Zatanna replied. Although this was technically true, Zatanna had in fact paid Cassandra 20$ to leave so she could have time alone with Hector. "But if you'd prefer her company instead…"

"Hey, I'm certainly not complaining," Hector claimed, running a hand up her leg, causing her to shiver in delight. "I'm more than happy to see you."

"Are you now?" Zatanna asked, getting up off the couch and standing close to him. "I don't know if I believe that," she said, running a finger across his cheek. "I might need to you convince me."

"Oh, you mean something like this?" Hector promptly cupped his hands around the curves of her bottom and picked her up, prompting her to hold onto the back of his neck and wrap her legs around his waist just as he gave her a scorching kiss, which she eagerly returned. "Do you believe me now?" He asked several seconds later.

Zatanna responded by making out with him some more. "I do now," she said, sighing happily.

"I've missed you Zee."

"I've missed you too. And I have a gift for you."

"Uh huh."

"You'll need to let go of me first."

"Uh huh."

"That means taking your hands off my butt."

"Why would I want to do that?" Hector asked with mock innocence, squeezing the aforementioned body part.

"Because, it's a nice gift, and I put time and effort into it."

"Alright, if you insist."

Hector gently put Zatanna down, then she tapped the couch three times and said "Time for bed." The couch then extended and transformed into a luxurious king sized bed, with sheets, blankets and pillows. Hector let out an impressed whistle at this. "I thought about a gift I could give to celebrate your promotion, so I used my magic to enchant your couch, and now you should be more comfortable sleeping on it. By the way, if you want to change it back, just tap it again three times and say: 'Time to wake up.'"

"Very nice. Thanks Zee."

"You're welcome. Why don't you lie down, try it out?"

Hector did just that, lying down comfortably on the bed. "Hmm… Comfy…"

"I'd glad you like it," she said, climbing onto the foot of the bed. "You know… maybe we should test it out, make sure it's solid enough."

"I like the… sound… of…" Hector's voice trailed off as Zatanna began crawling toward him, slow, sexy and with a look that had his heart pounding in his chest. He lay motionless as she climbed onto him, drinking in the sight of her sitting on his lap and undoing her buttons one by one. Even though the logical part of his brain knew it couldn't possibly take so long, to him it still seemed agonizingly slow. "Hot…"

"Yes…" The magician finally shed her tailcoat and blouse, tossing them aside and looking down at her boyfriend. "Now… why don't we-?" Zatanna was interrupted when Hector flipped her over and kissed her passionately. This time instead of stopping to flirt with each other, they just kept going at it like someone had lit a fire under them. In the midst of their throes of passion, the young lovers soon divested themselves of their clothes until they were down to nothing but their underwear. Zatanna rolled over on top of him, disheveled and with desire in her eyes as she grabbed his hands and guided them to her bare chest, moaning for him to touch her, which he was all too happy to oblige. Their embrace continued in this way, heating up to the point where it seemed inevitable that they would cross the final threshold, yet when Zatanna began grinding against him, it came to a sudden halt.

"Wait," Hector spoke up, the haze of lust clearing from his mind. "Wait," he repeated firmly, grabbing his girlfriend's arms and gently pushing her back. This brought Zatanna crashing down from her high.

"Wha-? What's wrong?" She asked, clearly confused.

"This is… we should stop there," he said hesitantly, separating himself from her.

"I don't understand. Why? Is it something I did?"

"It's not that, I'm just not sure this is such a good idea."

"Why? I mean, we've been going out this long, and given how you reacted the last few times, I was sure this was something you'd be interested in. Do you not want me like that?"

Hector awkwardly looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "Not wanting you… isn't exactly the problem."

Before Zatanna could ask what he meant by that, an alarm went off from her Justice League communicator and she reluctantly turned away to pick it up. "Give me a moment," she said once she was informed about the situation. Zatanna quickly gathered her clothes and got dressed as fast as she could, then turned her attention back to Hector for a few seconds. "We're not done with this conversation," she insisted, before giving the signal to be teleported away.

The next day, Hector was in the break room at work, idly listening to the news on the TV, about how the Justice League had foiled the sorcerer Wotan's attempt to blot out the sun using a mystical amulet. Grabbing the remote, he browsed through the channels for a few seconds, until he happened upon another news report and decided to watch it instead. "… inmates killed, including Eduardo Vasquez. M. Vasquez had been arrested by Detective Kevin Graham three months ago and was serving a life sentence for the murder of Officer Lesley-Ann Keen during a robbery." Hector's interest was peaked when the photo of Detective Graham (a dark haired man in his forties) appeared on the screen, recognizing him as a Gotham City police officer from seventeen years ago, the same one who'd arrested his father's killer.

"Hmm…"

"You say something?" one of Hector's co-workers asked.

"No, just thinking."

"You done watching?"

"Sure. Here you go." Hector passed him the remote, got up and walked away, paranoia beginning to tickle his brain.

Over at the GCPD, Harvey Bullock was sitting at his desk with a danish and going over paperwork when his phone started ringing. Setting aside his half eaten danish, he wiped his hand on his pants and picked up the phone. "Detective Bullock here, how can I help?"

"Hello detective, my name's Hector Anderson, Chris Anderson's son. You used to work with my father, and I was hoping for a moment of your time."

"I don't remember Chris having a son."

"I was adopted. We actually met once years ago. My father brought me to the police station to show me around, you had a box of donuts on your desk, I stole the last Boston Cream and you got into an argument with one of your co-workers because you thought they'd stolen it. I tried to hide the fact that I took it by shoving the whole thing in my mouth, but my dad noticed and-"

"Wait, wait, wait, now it's coming back to me. Yeah, I definitely remember that scrawny little kid with the puffed up squirrel cheeks and donut filling on his mouth. So what can I do for you? I'm sure you didn't call just to bring up old memories."

"I have a question for you. The man who killed my father… what happened to him after he was arrested?"

"Uh, he was sent off to Blackgate prison, but I think he was killed in a riot a few months into his sentence. Why'd you ask?"

"Because, I learned that another inmate who killed a cop was just killed in prison a few months into his sentence. He was arrested by Kevin Graham, the same cop who also arrested by father's killer. Look… I know this sounds far-fetched, maybe it's just a coincidence, maybe I'm just being paranoid, but… I can't shake the feeling that there's something there. My dad once told me that you're one of the best cops he ever worked with, so if there's any way you can look into this…"

Harvey let out a long sigh. "I liked your dad. He was a bit stiff, but a good cop, and an honest one too. I won't make any promises, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Detective."

"Don't mention it. Be careful though, just in case there actually is something going on here."

"Of course. Have a good day."

After work walking out of work, with a little research and a couple phone calls, Hector found himself at the late Lesley-Ann Keen's residence. Knocking on the door, he was soon greeted by a short blond woman with brown eyes and wearing glasses. "Pardon the intrusion, are you Rachael Martin?"

"Yes, that's me."

"I'm Hector Anderson," he introduced himself, offering a handshake which she returned. "Do you mind if I come in for a moment? I was hoping to talk about your late wife Lesley."

"Sure, come on in." Rachael stepped aside to let him enter, then guided him to her kitchen. "Can I get you anything to drink, M. Anderson?"

"Just water please."

A few seconds later, she joined him at her table with two glasses of water, passing one of them to him. "So, you said you wanted to talk about Lesley?"

"First off, I know it's already been three months, but I found out about your wife and I wanted to offer my condolences."

"Thank you."

"I lost my father to a drunk driver who shot him because he was afraid to lose his license. He was a cop in the GCPD, years back when I was a kid."

"That must have been difficult. What was he like?"

"He was kind, honest and generous. He found me living in the gutters of Gotham City, brought me into his home and he and his wife adopted me just like that. I didn't get to know him for long, but I admired him."

"He sounds like a good man."

"He was. Your wife Lesley… she was good too, wasn't she?" Hector asked sympathetically.

"Yes. We met in our last year of high school, and she helped me come out of the closet to my parents. Friends, co-workers, family… everyone liked her. She was a good cop too."

"Did she ever talk about her job with you?"

"Yeah, we used to talk about work with each other sometimes. Sometimes she'd confide in me and I'd help her get through her problems. Actually, before she died she was pretty tight-lipped about what she was working on, although I never thought anything about it." Rachael was distracted from the conversation when an alarm went off on her phone. "Sorry about that, but I have a dentist appointment soon."

"I'll leave you to it then."

"Thank you for sharing your story with me. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome. Goodbye, Ms. Martin."

Later in the day, as Cassandra was coming back from a date with her fellow cheerleader Myles, she walked into the apartment where she saw her brother sitting at the table with Marc Curry, the two of them engaged in conversation. "Hey there munchkin," Marc greeted her with a smile. "How's it going?"

"What're you doing here, Marc?"

"What? Am I not allowed to just drop in to visit my favourite mortals once in a while?"

"I just didn't expect to see you here, that's all."

"Come on, give your uncle Marc a hug, eh?" Marc stood up with his arms held out. Cassandra went over to him and accepted the invitation, wrapping her arms around him. "Good to see you, kid."

"Good to see you too. So… how's mom?"

"She's doing alright, keeping busy with her whole goddess of magic schtick, although she still misses you two. Actually, your brother asked me to give her a message, so if there's anything you want to say to her, like how school's going, new friends, activities… your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? What're you talking about?"

"You know…" Marc held up a strip of photos Cassandra and Myles had taken in a booth during their date earlier. She immediately put a hand to her back pocket, where she did not find her wallet, since Marc was holding it in his other hand while grinning cheekily at her.

"… You ass. Gimme that." Marc merely laughed at the teenage girl and gave her back her possessions. "For your information, we aren't technically boyfriend and girlfriend. We're both cheerleaders, he's fun, and we're sort of dating, but we haven't officially decided what to call ourselves, so for now he's just a boy who's my friend. Anyway… Tell mom that I'm doing well, I've been practicing my magic almost every day and I miss her a whole lot. And if you must tell her about Myles, tell her not to worry, because he's too scared of Hector to even think about stepping out of line."

"No problem kiddo, I'll be sure to let her know. Later gators." And with that Marc saluted them both and vanished.

"So…" Cassandra spoke up, a conspiratorial smile on her face. "How'd it go?"

"I assume you're referring to yesterday evening with Zatanna?" Hector asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Uh duh, what else would I be talking about?"

"Well, we talked for a bit, caught up with each other, and she gave me a gift. Here, I'll show you." Hector then went over to the couch and demonstrated by turning it into a bed and changing it back.

"Cool, magic couch. Did you guys 'break it in' yet?" Cassandra asked, making air quotes.

"…"

"Did you 'test it out'?

"…"

"Wink, wink, nudge, nudge?"

"…"

"Didn't get enough sleep last night, eh, eh, eh?" Cassandra wiggled her eyebrows for added emphasis.

"…"

"I'm gonna keeping bugging you until you give me something. So spit it out already."

"Unfortunately Zatanna was called away to an emergency with the Justice League. You might have heard about it: That sorcerer who tried to blot out the sun?"

"Riiight, I read about that online today. I guess saving the world would be a valid excuse for your girlfriend to miss out on sexy time. Too bad for you. Maybe next time you see her you should try putting the moves on her. I know you can be pretty charming when you put your mind to it."

"I'll take your advice into consideration. In the meantime…" Hector got up and pulled a deck of cards from a drawer. "How about some more magic practice?"

"Awesome! Let's get started." As the two of them sat down, Hector was relieved that he'd successfully distracted his sister from making further inquiries about his evening with Zatanna.

Up in the Watchtower cafeteria, Zatanna was with her usual cadre of friends. This time the subject of conversation was Shayera's recent date with one Roy Harper. "So… you and Roy, huh?" Wally nudged his friend, a grin on his face.

"Yes, Wally, I was on a date with Roy. Is that so hard to believe?"

"No, I'm just surprised at you going for a younger guy like that. Rawr!"

"Shut up!" she snapped, punching him in the shoulder.

"So… how'd it go?" Dinah inquired, sounding interested yet cautious.

"It was fun. He dressed up nicely, took me to a fancy place for dinner, we stayed there for a while just talking about this and that, then we went out dancing." Shayera noticed her friends looking at her as if they were expecting more. "And that was it."

"Really?" Mari asked. "I heard he was a bit of a player. You're sure he didn't take you back to his place for some late night entertainment?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Shayera answered. "Besides, Dinah's basically Roy's mother, so if something like that ever happened between Roy and I, I'm pretty sure she'd rather not hear all the details."

"You're right, I'd rather not."

"I just had a thought," Wally piped up, looking at Dinah. "Since you're pretty much Roy's mom, that'd make you Lian's grandma. Huh… pretty young to be an old granny, eh?"

Dinah punched him in the other shoulder in response. "Shut up!"

"You've been oddly quiet," Mari remarked to Zatanna. "Is there something on your mind?"

"I, uh… Shayera, you know that conversation we had a few days ago?"

"You mean when I asked why you still haven't slept with He- I mean, with you-know-who?"

"Yeah. I decided to follow your advice, and last night I tried to make a move on him."

"What happened?"

"Well…" Zatanna then proceeded to relate the previous night's events, ending with her being called away to deal with the crisis. "I'm just really confused. Did I do something wrong? Was I moving too fast for him? Am I not attractive enough?"

"Girl, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?" Mari asked disbelievingly. "Besides, considering what you've told us, there's no way this guy isn't into you like that."

"Yeah… weird thing, when I asked if he didn't want me like that he said that not wanting me wasn't the problem. I don't get it. What did he mean by that?"

"Maybe he's worried he's too big for you?" Dinah suggested.

"What makes you say that?" Zatanna demanded. "And how would you know something like that anyway?"

"I kind of ran into him at Ted's gym a few days ago. And, well, he's a pretty big guy, so if he's proportionate…"

"You actually met this guy?" Mari asked. "Wait… Shay, you were about to say his name, weren't you? I'm guessing you must have met him too."

"Yeah, I did. He's pretty smart, kind of like Bruce, actually."

"He is kind of like Bruce," Dinah agreed. "Although I mostly noticed he's got really good moves." The others all looked at the blond woman with surprise. "I am talking about sparring," she quickly clarified.

"Oh…" Zatanna said. "You know what? The rest of you will probably end up meeting him yourselves if this keeps up, so here you go." The magician then pulled out her phone and showed her friends a few photos of the two of them together. "His name's Hector Anderson, by the way. Just don't tell Bruce about him. I'd like to keep this from him for as long as possible."

"I think we can all respect that," Mari suggested, prompting the others to nod in agreement. "So, back to your problem… have you considered talking to one of Hector's friends or family members? Maybe one of them can help you figure things out, especially if you have trouble discussing it with him."

"That's a good idea. Thanks."

Two days later, with rain pouring from the evening sky, Hector was dressed up as Spartan and was stalking Detective Kevin Graham, taking extra care not to be seen or heard. When Hector had asked Marc to deliver a message, it had been to ask his and Cassandra's mother if their father had been working on anything in particular before his death, and if he'd told her anything about it. He'd also explained his suspicions about the police officer who might have been involved in his death. Marc had already returned with her reply in the early hours the next morning, informing Hector that his father had been investigating a fellow police officer. Although he hadn't explicitly told his wife the man's name, she'd known that Kevin Graham was the one in question.

So, for the past two days, most of the time he wasn't at work had been spent following Detective Graham, ignoring almost everything else and getting only a few hours of sleep in the hopes of being able to prove his suspicions. Spartan was currently hiding in the shadows of an underground car park as his target was waiting for someone. Eventually another car came in, from which a man stepped out, also dressed incognito. The two men shook hands, and after a bit of small talk they began transferring suspicious packages from the corrupt detective's car into the newcomer's car. Still keeping out of sight, Spartan pulled out a camera, one he'd tinkered with to enhance its capabilities, and took several photos of the drug exchange. When they were done, Spartan watched them leave, then waited a few minutes before leaving himself. Even though he hadn't gotten a shot of either man's face, he had managed a shot of the unknown man's license plate.

Afterwards, Hector had gone to Vladimir's apartment where he'd proceeded to wake up his friend and ask him about his girlfriend Lauren Decker, a police detective. Though somewhat annoyed at the disturbance, Vladimir had answered his questions and assured him that she was an honest cop and that he trusted her. When Hector insisted he needed to talk to her away from prying ears, Vladimir had made a joke about stealing her away from him, but quickly realized his friend was deadly serious, and so he'd called her. After a few minutes on the phone, he'd driven the two of them over to her place.

"I'm not happy about being up so late, but whatever this is sounds important, so you have my attention," Lauren (a woman with blue eyes and dirty blonde hair) spoke softly as they walked into her apartment. "Still, I'm warning you both, do not wake up my daughter, alright?"

"Of course," Vladimir agreed, while Hector nodded silently. "Lauren, this is Hector Anderson, my friend I told you about over the phone."

"Are you Cassandra's brother?" Lauren asked, curious.

"I am."

"She looked after my daughter for me a couple times before. She's a good sitter, very mature and responsible. Now… what did you need to talk to me about?"

"First I need to stress that what I'm about to tell you is very serious, and it cannot get out to the wrong people, or else you risk putting yourself and your loved ones in danger. Do you still want to see justice done?"

Lauren looked at Hector straight in the eyes unflinching, and Hector looked right back at her. "I wouldn't have become a cop otherwise. Tell me."

Hector then gave a side glance at Vladimir. "Whatever this is, I promise not to say a word about it to anyone, even Maksim or Nikolai."

"Very well." Hector then began to tell them about his father and how he'd been investigating another cop before his death, about Detective Kevin Graham, Officer Lesley-Ann Keen, his meeting with Rachael Martin, his call with Harvey Bullock, and everything he'd learned over the course of his investigation. Of course, he left out any mention about Olympian gods and his own secret identity as Spartan.

"Damn…" Vladimir muttered once Hector was finished.

"Hmm… This is suspicious," Lauren admitted. "Not enough in and of itself though. You said you took photos of Detective Graham meeting with his unknown partner, yes?"

"I did." Hector then took out his camera and showed her the photos in question. "I couldn't see his partner's face, but I did get a shot of his license plate."

"Alright. I can start by running the license plate to figure out who this unknown partner is. I'll also see about having a look around Rachael's house. If her wife was investigating this conspiracy, there's a chance she might have hidden something. Relax, I can be discreet too."

"Good."

"I'll be honest, I'd rather you'd stay out of the way and let me handle this investigation, but I'm willing to bet you're not the kind of man to back off from something like this so easily."

"That's a bet you'd win."

"In that case, please try not to get involved too closely. If we solve this mystery and there's a trial afterwards, we might get screwed if we make mistakes during the investigation. Not to mention that if your hunch is right, we're dealing with people who don't have a problem killing cops, so we need to be extra careful."

"I know. And I will."

Fast forward to the following day after school, Casandra and Zatanna (dressed casual) were sitting together at Dairy Queen after Zatanna had picked up Cassandra from school. The two of them made casual conversation for a bit, talking about school, the Justice League, magic, Cassandra's friends, and whatever else crossed their minds. "So, how did things go with my brother?" Cassandra asked in-between bites of her banana split. "I asked him about it but he didn't have much to say, aside from the magic couch and that the two of you were interrupted when you were called away for an emergency to go save the world."

"About that… at the time I thought things were going really well between us, but then we had a problem of sorts, and I don't mean the interruption, although thanks to that I didn't have the chance to talk to him about it. On top of that he's been ignoring me since then, despite my attempts to get in touch with him."

"Really?"

"Uh huh. I was hoping you'd have some insight into why Hector would react like this."

"… Son of a bitch," Cassandra muttered, annoyed that her brother had purposefully misled her. "Yeah, of course I'll help you out. Why don't you start by telling me just what happened that night? I mean, without going into too much detail. Don't get me wrong, I love teasing my brother about his love life, but I don't need to know everything."

Cassandra listened attentively as Zatanna told her about the events of her evening with Hector, while leaving out the more graphic details. "So, yeah. I'm just really confused. I mean, does he have problems with intimacy? Is he not attracted to me? Does he-?"

"I'm gonna cut you off right there," Cassandra butt in. "First off, I can assure you that you are special to him, and he cares about you a lot. Second, I have a theory. Maybe my brother didn't want to let things go too far because you're so special to him."

"I'm… still confused. Can you elaborate?"

"See, my brother's a serious kind of guy, and since he likes you so much, he'd probably want your first time together to be special. And since he hasn't been with a woman since Alice left, maybe he's worried he wouldn't be good enough for you."

"Wait… didn't Alice leave your brother when he was 19?"

"Yeah, she did."

"That was seven years ago. You're telling me he hasn't… for that long?"

"Yep."

"That's… a bit of a dry spell. Knowing what I do about your brother, that does make sense though. Thanks for your input."

"No problemo. Now we just need to get my stubborn brother to sit down and talk to you. Tell me, are you busy this evening?"

At the same time as this was happening Hector and Detective Decker were at the latter's apartment, having a three-way conversation with Harvey Bullock over the phone. "I had to call in a favour, but I got my hands on Chris' old files," Harvey spoke on the other end of the line. "And I can confirm that he was in fact investigating Kevin Graham before he died. So far, from what I can tell he was involved in a drug operation, and it looks like he probably stole from evidence too."

"I don't have anything on Detective Graham," Lauren began. "But I got someone to run the license plate of the guy Hector saw doing business with him. Turns out it's registered to Adam Doyle, who runs a youth centre in the city."

"Easy enough for him to recruit kids to distribute his product on the streets," Hector noted.

"It is," Lauren agreed. "I paid Lesley's widow a visit earlier, and with her help I found some hidden evidence. Not only was she investigating Adam Doyle himself, but apparently several kids from his youth centre were involved in dealing drugs."

"So what's the connection between Adam Doyle and Kevin Graham?" Hector asked.

"They were army buddies," Harvey answered. "Graham told me about it once. When they came to Gotham, he got a job at the GCPD, and Doyle worked as a guard at Blackgate prison. I wouldn't be surprised if Doyle killed Chris' murderer during the riot to tie up loose ends. Hold on a second." Muffled sounds were heard over the phone as Harvey presumably talked to someone on his end. "I need to go, but I'll call if I find anything new. Good luck."

"What now, detective?"

"Right now I'm going to go talk to a judge and see about getting a warrant for surveillance on the suspects. If I talk to the right judge it shouldn't be much of a problem. Then we'll wait, and once we have enough solid evidence we'll arrest them, or if we're lucky we'll catch them in the act."

"Good."

After her conversation with Harvey and Hector, Lauren had gone to see a judge and made her case. Fortunately the judge had been open minded and signed the warrant with little trouble. Late that evening, after making arrangements for someone to look after her daughter, she'd gone to Adam Doyle's youth centre, where an event was happening inside, giving her the opportunity to creep about the parking lot to plant a surveillance bug in his car. As she was in the middle of this, someone quickly grabbed her jacket, put a hand over her mouth and pulled her out of the car, closing the door behind her. To her surprise, the one responsible was Hector, an urgent look in his eyes. "Play along," he whispered, before removing his hand and bringing his face in close, enough that anyone who might be watching would think they were kissing.

"Wha-?" Hector interrupted by pressing his lips against hers just enough to silence her for a couple seconds.

"We're being watched," he warned her.

Acting on impulse, the detective jumped into the deception, putting her hands on the back of his head and kissing him lightly until- "Ahem." The two of them immediately split apart at the sound of this new voice, with Lauren looking awkward and Hector putting on a very convincing act. They turned to see a blond man with buzz cut hair, a military tattoo on his arm and a smirk on his face.

"Err… sorry about that," Hector said. "We, umm… thought we were alone out here."

"Yeah, umm, sorry," Lauren pitched in, looking downward.

"No worries," the man replied with a good natured grin. "I just came out for a smoke, noticed you two and couldn't help butting in. I'm Gary, by the way."

"I'm Dan, and this is Charlotte," Hector answered.

"Honey, maybe we can leave and find a nice quiet place, just the two of us?" Lauren suggested, grabbing Hector's arm.

"Of course. Lead the way." Arm in arm, the two of them quickly bade Gary goodbye and walked away. Once they were at a safe distance and around a corner, Lauren let go of Hector and sighed in relief.

"That was clo- Hey! How is it you just happened to be there while I was bugging Doyle's car? Were you following me?"

"Like you said: 'We need to be extra careful.' Letting you get busted wouldn't be good for you or the investigation."

"True enough," Lauren admitted. "Thanks for bailing me out back there."

"You're welcome. Did you manage to get the bug in place?"

"Yes. Now we just have to wait."

"Alright then. And for the record, I have no intention of coming between you and Vladimir. Besides, I already have a girlfriend."

"Good. You know… you're an interesting man, Hector Anderson. Good night then."

When Hector finally returned to his apartment, it was to the sight of Zatanna and Cassandra sitting at the table waiting for him impatiently, if the expression on Zatanna's face and the way she was tapping her foot was any indication. Before Hector could say anything, Cassandra jumped out of her seat, grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the table. "Whatever's wrong with you, you're going to sit down, you're going to talk to Zatanna and you're going to sort out your problems like a mature, responsible adult," she declared firmly.

"So…" Zatanna spoke in a cold manner as Hector sat in the chair. "Care to explain why you've been avoiding me?"

"Cassandra, sit down," Hector said. "You should hear this too."

"What're you-?"

"I'm serious."

Seeing the look on her brother's face, Cassandra decided to listen to him. "Okay, what is it?"

"I recently found out that before dad died, he was investigating an illegal drug operation, and I believe that he was murdered because of it. If you're wondering how I know this, I had suspicions, and I've been helping investigate the matter over the past few days."

"Is that why you haven't been answering my calls?" Zatanna inquired.

"Yes. Right now we're waiting on a lead, but the detective I'm working with seems cautiously optimistic."

"Why didn't you tell me anything before?" Cassandra asked, speaking softly.

"Three reasons. One, I just recently found out. Two, I wanted to be sure of this before saying anything. Three, these people are dangerous, and they're responsible for killing dad and at least one other cop that I know of. Look… I know this is a lot to take in, but until this case is solved, you can't say anything to anyone. Not. A. Word."

"I... I understand. Do you really think you'll be able to take down these guys?"

"Yes." Spoken with such certainty, that one simple word was all the guarantee the young girl needed.

"Thank you." Cassandra let out a yawn. "It's late. I'm gonna go to bed and sleep on... all this. I'll leave you guys to sort out your problems."

The two adults were quiet as Cassandra hugged her brother, then went to her room and closed the door behind her. "You could've told me about this," Zatanna spoke up eventually. "I am a member of the Justice League. I could've-"

"Zatanna, with all due respect, this kind of problem doesn't call for super strength, flight, energy blasts or magic."

"The Justice League is more than just a bunch of people with super powers," she insisted. "We have members with the skill sets to solve cases like this."

"You mean Batman? How would you broach the subject with him exactly?" Zatanna remained silent for lack of an answer. "Look, the Justice League has its place, and I certainly don't mean to insult you or your friends, but the League doesn't have to solve every problem. And if I'm being completely honest, part of the reason is that this is personal."

Zatanna sighed at this. "You really are a lot like Batman, and just about as stubborn too. I can understand your reasons, but if something happens, please, just talk to me, even if you can't tell me everything."

"Alright. There is something else you should know. The detective I've been working with? Earlier this evening she was putting a surveillance bug in one of the suspects' cars and-"

"Were you following her?" Zatanna interrupted. Hector's response was silence, accompanied by a blank stare. "Never mind. Go on."

"As she was doing this, she didn't notice a guy coming over, so I pulled her out of the car and kissed her, but only insofar as was necessary to fool the guy so he wouldn't find out and screw over the investigation."

"…I can't say I'm happy about this, but I appreciate your honesty, and given the circumstances, I'll forgive you. That said, you're not off the hook yet. We need to talk about our evening together."

"Ah… that."

"I know that you haven't been intimate with a woman in years. Are you worried you wouldn't be good enough because it's been so long since you've had sex? Is that why you didn't want to sleep with me?"

"That's… not inaccurate, but not the main reason why." Zatanna looked at him expectantly, so he took a deep breath to steel himself and continued. "I like you, Zee. You're very attractive, you're a great person, you're really hot, and I totally want you. A lot. The fact is, I'm a big guy, I'm pretty strong, and you are fairly smaller than me. Simply put, since it's been so long for me, I'm worried about… losing control and getting too rough with you."

"Oh…" Zatanna said, blinking in surprise. "So that's what you meant when you said that not wanting me wasn't the problem."

"Yeah," Hector muttered awkwardly, looking downward.

Zatanna then got up from her chair, sat down in Hector's lap, tilted his head up and gently kissed him. "I'm touched that you're so concerned with my well-being, but you don't need to worry. I may not be as physically imposing as you, but I am a full fledged member of the Justice League, and I regularly face down super-villains, evil warlocks and other threats like that. Trust me, I'm tougher than I look."

Hector relaxed and smiled at this. "I don't deserve you."

Zatanna smiled back and playfully swatted his chest. "I don't want to pressure you into something you don't feel ready for, but I'd still like to give myself to you."

"If you're certain you want me, then I'd like to give myself to you too."

"I'm certain. Just… not right this moment." Zatanna glanced at the door to Cassandra's room, causing both of them to chuckle at this. "We could still cuddle," she offered.

"I'd like that." And so the two of them lay on Hector's new bed and held each other close, soon falling asleep in their embrace.

Detective Decker stood still in the shadows near the city's harbour late in the evening, lying in wait with another five police officers. Their surveillance had paid off after a week, giving them the time and location of their suspects' next meeting, and so she and her fellow were patiently waiting to catch them in the act. One car arrived first, followed by another several minutes later. The two men (dressed incognito) stepped out of their cars, greeted each other and shook hands. They talked for a moment, one passed his partner a wad of cash, and then they began to transfer their cargo from one car to the other. "Police, freeze!" Lauren shouted as she and the others jumped out with weapons drawn.

One of them instinctively went for the gun at his side, but was shot down before he could fire. Seeing him fall to the ground and the police closing in, his partner raised his hands in surrender. The suspects were then put in handcuffs and unmasked, confirming their identities as Adam Doyle and Kevin Graham, with the latter being the one who'd just been shot. "You're making a big mistake," Adam declared.

"Adam Doyle, Kevin Graham, you're under arrest," Lauren informed them as another officer saw to the corrupt cop's injury, which fortunately for him was non-lethal.

"You don't get who you're messing with," Kevin declared, gritting his teeth in pain. "I swear you're gonna regret this."

"Aside from the drug charges, we know you murdered Chris Anderson and Lesley-Ann Keen for investigating your operation. Trust me, you're going away for a long time."

The next day after school, Hector decided to walk over to Cassandra's school and made his way to the gym where she and the rest of the cheerleading team were practicing. There he sat down on one of the bleachers while watching the practice. "Hi," a young girl piped up. Looking to his right, he saw Penelope Carter sitting nearby. "Are you Cassandra's brother?" she asked shyly.

"Yes, I came to watch my sister's practice. Who are you here for?"

"My cousin Sally. She's on the team with Cassandra."

"Ah, you must be Penelope Carter. Pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." The two of them made light conversation while the team practiced, getting acquainted with each other. Of course, even though Hector already knew a fair bit about her (through meeting her as Spartan), he let nothing slip.

"You know, you seem like a cool guy," Penelope commented. "You're not nearly as scary as Myles made you out to be."

"He's 'not quite dating' Cassandra, so I'm just playing the part of the overprotective scary big brother," Hector said with the ghost of a smile on his face. "Between you and me, I'm not worried, but don't tell him I said that."

"Don't worry, I can keep a secret," Penelope assured him, smiling as if she were guarding some great secret.

"Hey, bro!" Cassandra called out to her brother, the team now finished with their practice. "What brings you here?"

"I got a call from Detective Decker earlier today. She's the one I mentioned I was working with."

"And…?"

"Great news."

Sometime later, Lauren and Vladimir were together at the former's apartment, along with her eight year old daughter Scarlett (a sprightly little brunette girl with pigtails). The three of them were playing a board game together when someone knocked on the door. "I got it!" the young girl called out. Upon opening the door she saw Hector and Cassandra. "Hey, Cassandra!" she exclaimed excitedly, hugging the teenager.

"Hey there, Scarlett."

"Who's your friend?" she inquired.

"I'm Hector," he introduced himself. "Cassandra's big brother."

"You're huge," Scarlett blurted out, causing Vladimir and Cassandra to laugh, and Hector to roll his eyes in amusement.

"Scarlett, that wasn't very polite," Lauren admonished her daughter.

"It's alright," Hector reassured her. "Nice to meet you, Scarlett."

"Please, come in," Lauren invited them. "So what brings you here?"

"I just wanted to thank you in person," Cassandra said sincerely. "My brother told me that you caught the guys responsible for my father's death, and I wanted to say I'm grateful for what you did."

"Thank you, detective," Hector said, offering his hand, which she grasped firmly.

"Just doing my job," she insisted. "But you're welcome."

"I'd say this calls for a celebration," Vladimir declared, removing a bottle of wine from the fridge. "How about a drink?"

"Yes, please," Hector replied.

Vladimir then poured out a glass for himself, Lauren and Hector, with some apple juice for Cassandra and Scarlett. "A toast," Vladimir proposed. "To truth, justice, and good people." They all clinked their glasses together and took a drink. The adults talked together for a moment as Cassandra entertained Scarlett, until a couple minutes later when Hector's phone rang and he excused himself to take the call.

"Hello?"

"Hector, it's Bullock."

"What's going on, detective? Doyle and Graham have already been-"

"The man who was arrested for your father's murder didn't actually kill him."

"… Go on," Hector said cautiously.

"I stumbled across a witness who saw him already passed out drunk at the time your father was killed. There's more. I found an old photo from when Doyle and Graham were in the army, in the same division with two other guys. Lenny Goldman died in a car accident five years ago, but Gary Arietta's still alive and he works at the same youth centre run by Adam Doyle."

A knock at the door interrupted the others. "I'll get it," Vladimir spoke up, being the closest.

A sudden chill ran down Hector's spine at that moment. "Do-" Vladimir opened the door before his friend could warn him, then froze. On the other side stood the man Hector and Lauren had seen at the youth centre parking lot, holding a pistol in his hand. Vladimir slowly backed away as Gary walked into the apartment, closing the door behind him with his foot and threatening everyone with his gun. Hector quickly hit a button on his phone and stuffed it in his back pocket before Gary could notice, keeping the call with Harvey on the line so he could hear what was going on without alerting their aggressor.

"You…" Gary looked straight at Lauren, who stood still as everyone else. "I should've known you were up to something that night. Never occurred to me you were a cop."

"Gary, is it?" she asked, calm and controlled despite the situation. "Can you tell me why you're doing this?"

"You're a part of it, aren't you, Gary Arietta?" Hector spoke up. "Adam Doyle and Kevin Graham… you're a part of their drug operation."

"Yes," Gary said. "We were all in the army, that's where we met, where we forged a brotherhood in fire and blood. And when we all finally returned home, we swore that nothing and no-one would ever come between us."

"Is that happened with my father?" Hector asked. "His name was Chris Anderson, he was a police officer in the GCPD. Did he threaten to come between you and your brotherhood?"

"We tried to get him to leave us alone, but that idiot just wouldn't keep his nose out of our business, so we had to get rid of him."

"Then the drunk driver your friend arrested for my dad's murder… did he even kill him, or was he just another victim?"

Gary scoffed at this. "That old man drunk just made for an easy target to pin the blame on."

"Tell me something," Lauren spoke slowly. "Lesley-Ann Keen… did she threaten to come between you and your friends too? Did you do the same thing with her that you did with Chris Anderson?"

"Unfortunately, she wouldn't back off either, so we had to get rid of her too," Gary admitted.

"The man who killed her… he was just another easy target for you and your friends to pin the blame on, wasn't he?" she guessed.

"Not like he was a saint anyway." While the three of them had been talking, Hector had slowly moved to stand between Gary and Cassandra, who was holding Scarlett in her arms. "Now… it's time for you to pay, Detective. You took everything away from me, so I'm going to take everything away from you."

"Wait!" she pleaded. "Whatever I've done, the others are innocent in all this. They've done nothing to you. Please let them go!"

A dark look passed over Gary's face as he turned his gun on Hector, Cassandra and Scarlett. "… Nothing and no-one."

Like some mindless beast wrought from the darkest pits of humanity's nightmares, Hector let loose a terrifying roar and charged. The moment that followed was brutal, violent, and seemed to happen so fast, when the others came to their senses Gary was lying on the floor, beaten, battered and a bloody mess, but still alive, albeit unconscious. Hector stood up off of him, stumbled and leaned onto the countertop, his back to the others, blood on his hands and breathing heavily. "Is… is everyone… okay?"

"Y-yes, nobody's hurt," Lauren answered, shaking off her stupor.

"That's… good." Hector then fell back and collapsed on the floor. Cassandra gasped in horror, for her brother had been shot three times and his torso was covered in blood. The last thing Hector saw was Lauren pressing something against his chest, before everything went to black.

There you have it, please review if you have any comments, constructive criticism, etc...

This wasn't exactly how I planned this chapter at first, but the idea of a cliffhanger sounded fun. Slightly evil to the readers, but fun. :-)