Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League, this story is just for fun.

So, after receiving several reviews on the subject, I changed the Batman scene from chapter 19 a little. It's still similar, but I tried to make Hector look more like he was holding his ground against Batman. I also tried to explain why Hector didn't fight back, and I threw in a piece about that in this chapter.

Also, in the previous chapter, as well as this one, I refer to Zatanna having a conversation/shouting at Batman. This is something that happened off-script, btw.

With that said... enjoy!

Auld Acquaintance

Late Sunday evening after returning home from the tournament in Star City, Hector was by himself doing exercises. An absent minded look sat on his face as he did a series of push ups, his body going through the motions while his mind was focused on other things. He found himself thinking about his old friend Jason, and the dreams about Vlatava that'd been plaguing him of late. Although he'd had such nightmares before, their sudden reappearance after a long period of peace left him feeling disturbed. He also found that they'd dug up old feelings he would've sooner left forgotten. Hector tried to distract himself from this by thinking about the way his earring had reacted to Dick's brother Jason.

Considering he'd forged his helmet/earring with Stygian Iron from the underworld, he knew it held a certain connection to death. The cold he'd felt when they'd shaken hands told him that the other man had been touched by death, but exactly what the circumstances were, he couldn't tell. Had Jason had a near death experience? Maybe he'd died and somehow been resurrected? Or perhaps it was something else. Whatever the case, Hector knew it had to have left a lasting impact on Jason in order to make his earring go so cold, and yet he was certain Jason wasn't some manner of undead or demon, given the way it had fluctuated instead of simply staying cold.

His contemplation was interrupted when Hermes suddenly appeared in the apartment with Cassandra. "Hey Cass, Marc," he greeted them as he got up off the floor. "How did-?" Hector was interrupted when Cassandra threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. "What's that all about?" he asked, patting her on the back.

"I'm just happy I got the chance to see mom again after so long," Cassandra exclaimed joyfully, holding onto him tightly. "You're the best big brother ever, and screw anyone who says otherwise."

Hermes chuckled a little at the fierceness of Cassandra's words. "I wouldn't want to break up such a heart-warming family moment, so I'll let myself out."

"Goodbye Marc," Cassandra said. "And thanks for the lift."

"No problem, kiddo. See you around." And with that said, Hermes was gone.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Hector spoke up when Cassandra let him go.

"Oh yeah, it was awesome! I got lots of practice, learned new magic, saw some pretty cool stuff, and mom gave me this." Cassandra showed him the butterfly necklace. "It helps me channel my magic, and mom infused it with her own powers so she can keep teaching me even though she's not here."

"That's neat. Listen, it's getting pretty late, so you should be off to bed soon. Tomorrow you can tell me everything that happened while you were away, and I'll tell you about the tournament in Star City."

"Yeah, sure," Cassandra said with a yawn. "By the way, before I forget, Iris wanted me to let you know that if you need her to send a message she wants a hand drawn rainbow, or a real one. No printouts."

"Oh. Okay. In that case, do you mind…?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just hang on a second…" Cassandra grabbed a few colored pencils as well as a sheet of paper, and drew a simple rainbow. "There. That should be good enough for her."

"Thanks, Cass. Good night."

"G'night." Cassandra then trudged over to her room to drop off her stuff, while Hector went into his workshop and closed the door behind him.

Hector set the drawing on the floor, kneeled down in front of it, pulled a coin from his pocket, and placed it on the rainbow. "Great Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept this offering and let me speak with Eugene Peeters." The coin was absorbed into the drawing of the rainbow, which then rose up off the paper, floating a few feet in mid-air, then extended to form a full circle, with black and white television static appearing in the middle. The image cleared up a second later to show a young man in his late teens with messy blond hair, blue eyes and glasses who was sitting next to several computer screens.

"Before you say anything, the answer is yes," the young man quickly spoke up.

"Hello Eugene," Hector greeted him in a calm, professional manner, with just a small amount of sarcasm. "I've missed you too."

"Right, I'm getting ahead of myself aren't I? Hey Hector. It's been a while."

"So what are you saying 'yes' to, exactly?"

"You want me to be your 'guy in the chair', right? You know, mission control? Guy sitting at a computer, doing research, feeding you info, hacking cameras and whatnot? I mean, Spartan's been an active super-hero slash vigilante for some time now, so I could help out behind the scenes."

"You do have a point," Hector admitted. "And I was going to ask you about that eventually. I assume you already have a name picked out for yourself?"

"Yes I do. Call me Agent Parthenon," Eugene declared proudly.

"A little on the nose," Hector remarked, smirking in amusement. "Still, it fits."

"Of course it does, even my mother approves. At least, I'm pretty sure those two owls that were singing outside my window a few days ago were a sign that she likes the name. So… what's going on? Anything I can help out with?"

"Nothing too urgent, but there is one thing," Hector said, adopting a more serious demeanour. "I'd like you to do some digging on a person of interest." He then proceeded to tell Eugene about his meeting with Jason Todd, and explained about his earring and the way it had reacted to his presence. "Like I said, it's not too urgent, but it's been bugging me, and I'd like to know."

"Hmm… it is strange," Eugene muttered, a pensive expression on his face, rubbing his chin as he considered what Hector had told him. "I'll see what I can come up with, and I'll let you know when I've got something."

"Thanks. Before you go, there's … something else I needed to talk to you about."

Eugene noticed the hesitation in Hector's voice and the way he avoided his gaze, and knew that whatever is was had to be serious to shake him so. "What is it?" he asked, speaking softly.

"I've been having nightmares," Hector admitted with some reluctance. "About Vlatava. About Jason." He took in a deep breath to steel himself before he continued. "I thought I'd made peace, but it started up again recently. I get glimpses of different moments from the battle and leading up to it. Most of it's the way I remember… then I see Jason, dead but still standing, with hollow eyes. He accuses me of letting him die, and I just stand there and do nothing because… I still feel like it's my fault." A heavy silence hung in the air as Hector hung his head in shame. "I… I'm sorry I let your brother die."

Neither one said a thing as Eugene considered Hector's words. When he finally spoke, he was calm despite the sorrow in his voice. "I remember when Athena brought me the news about Jason. I couldn't believe it at first, and when I finally did, I just broke down. The gods alone know how many nights I cried myself to sleep." Another moment of silence, in which Hector made himself look at Eugene again. "I loved my brother, and I'll always miss him, but I know he wouldn't want you to blame yourself for his death. And the truth is… I don't blame you either."

Hector let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. "Thank you," he said gratefully. Hector's hands were folded in his lap, his voice was subdued, and he still had grief in his eyes, though Eugene's words seemed to have reduced his burden. "I wish I could forgive myself, but… it means a lot that you'd say that."

"Hey, you've saved my life before," Eugene said with a comforting smile. "This is the least I can do."

"Thanks. I'll be in touch, Agent Parthenon."

"See you around, Spartan." The two of them saluted each other with a fist over their heart, then Hector waved his hand through the screen and it faded away.

The next day, Vladimir and Lauren were at the latter's apartment, getting ready to play monopoly with her daughter Scarlett. "Can you believe Hector's already recovered?" Lauren asked her boyfriend as the two of them grabbed some snacks and drinks from the kitchen. "I was surprised when I heard he'd gotten out of the hospital so soon."

"He's one tough guy, that's for sure," Vladimir replied. "Still, it could've been a lot worse. Didn't one of the shots almost hit his heart?"

A frown appeared on Lauren's face as she remembered how close to death Hector had been. "Yeah, he got lucky in that regard. We should do something for him. You know him better than I do. Any ideas?"

"Well… We could always take him out for drinks to celebrate his recovery," he suggested. "Why don't we invite his girlfriend too? Make it a double date?"

"Yeah, that could be nice," Lauren remarked. "Do you-"

"Come on already!" The two adults were interrupted by Scarlett loudly complaining from the living room. "What's taking you guys so long?"

"Just a minute!" Vladimir called back to the young girl. He then took out his cellphone and placed it on the counter. "His number's in my phone. You can call him to set it up, and I'll go check on Scarlett."

Lauren nodded in confirmation and picked up his phone while Vladimir went to check on her daughter. She pulled up Hector's contact info, dialled his number, and waited as it rang. He answered a moment later, curt and a little short of breath. "Wadda you want, Vlad?"

"He just lent me his phone. This is Lauren. Umm… Is this a bad time?"

"Hang on…" Lauren heard a muffled voice as Hector removed himself from his phone for a few seconds. "Just make it quick."

"Sure. So, Vlad and I wanted to do something to celebrate you getting out of the hospital…" Lauren paused when she heard a sound of rustling sheets, followed by a 'shhh'. "And we were just wondering if you and Zatanna wanted to do a double date and go out for drinks." Two muffled voices came through the other end of the line, followed by Zatanna picking up the phone, sounding out of breath.

"We'll call you back," she said promptly, then hung up.

Lauren stood there for several seconds with eyes wide open, realizing that she'd caught the two of them in the middle of foreplay, if not sex. She soon rejoined Vladimir and Scarlett, and gave the former back his phone. "So, what'd he say?" the Russian asked.

"I think they'll come, but first they're going to… talk about it," Lauren answered, placing a certain emphasis on the last three words. Vladimir seemed to understand what she meant, given the way he started laughing.

"What?" Scarlett piped up innocently. "What's so funny?"

"It's nothing," her mother insisted as she sat down. "Let's just play."

Lauren had in fact guessed correctly about Hector and Zatanna's intentions. The two of them were cuddling in bed in a tangle of sheets and limbs, having just finished the tussle they'd had after brushing off her call. The young lovers were alone in Hector's apartment, basking in the afterglow as snowflakes were falling outside. "What're you smirking about?" Zatanna asked, noticing the look on her boyfriend's face.

"I just had this mental image of you standing between me and Batman and yelling in his face," Hector answered. "It's nice to know I have you to protect me from the big, scary vigilante."

Zatanna smacked his chest playfully in response. "Hey! When you told me what he did, I wasn't going to just sit back and take it. I made him promise to leave you alone. You could at least sound grateful for it."

"Oh, I'm veeeery grateful," he shot back flirtatiously, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "Couldn't you tell?"

Zatanna shivered in delight at this and nuzzled her face into his neck "I thought it was because of that thing I did with my tongue."

"Well… that too." The two of them lay there in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence, until Hector spoke up again. "Hey, if you're not busy tomorrow, did you want to take up Lauren on her offer?"

"Oh right, she called earlier when we were… getting started." Zatanna smiled coyly at the memory of this. "What was that about again? I wasn't exactly paying attention."

Hector gave her a smile in return. "I think we were both a little distracted. She asked if we wanted to do a double date with her and Vladimir. She suggested going out for drinks."

"Sure. They seem nice, and it could be fun." Hector rolled over to reach for his phone, only for Zatanna to grab his arm and pull him back, holding him close to her. "Nuh uh. You can call back later. I want my cuddles now."

Hector chuckled in amusement and obliged her. "As you command, Zee."

At this same time, while Cassandra was on a date, Sally was accompanying Penelope to a martial arts class at the Themysciran embassy. Unbeknownst to her cousin, Penelope's prayers for guidance regarding her demigod heritage had been answered in the form of a dream involving a sentient, talking horse with a fiery red mane carrying her to a coliseum where armoured women were fighting each other. This, combined with a pamphlet from the Themysciran embassy which had not been at her bedside before going to sleep, lead to her signing up for the class. There they'd been introduced to their instructor, an Amazon with fiery red hair and a temper to match who started them off with a series of exercises. And after a while…

"How long…has it… been… yet?" Sally asked. The teenager was bent over, hands on her knees, winded and sweating bullets like the rest of the class.

"Feels like… hours," Penelope replied.

"Come on, ladies!" the teacher called out. "This was supposed to let me know what I'm working with, and you all look like you're about to collapse. Is there no one who's fit to continue?" A collective groan from the class let her know the answer to that question. "Fine then. Everyone take a break for a few minutes. Drink some water, catch your breath, and we'll do something special when we get back."

"Oh man," Sally groaned as she and Penelope trudged over to a fountain for a drink. "I hate to think what that woman considers 'special'. She probably wants to spar and smack one of us around."

"Uh huh…" Penelope gave a non-committal response, before grabbing a large clay drinking cup and filling it with water flowing from the statue in the middle of the fountain. She raised the cup to her cousin, then quickly chugged it down. "Ahhhhh, that feels good," Penelope exclaimed. Her skin was tingling and tight with goosebumps, causing her to shiver a little. It was like she'd just downed a large energy drink and was bursting at the seams.

"Whoa, you look like you're ready to run a marathon," Sally remarked, surprised at her sudden burst of energy. "What the hell's in this water? Is this some kind of magic fountain?"

"I dunno. Here, try it out." Sally took the cup her cousin offered, filled it and took a long drink.

The blond girl waited for a few seconds before declaring: "Nope, I'm not feeling it. I'm not thirsty anymore, but I'm not as pumped up as you look. I guess it's just you then." She gently elbowed her cousin who merely smiled in response and took the cup back for another drink.

"Alright ladies, break's over!" their teacher called out, prompting everyone to shuffle back. "Now, I could do with a workout, so we're going to have ourselves a little sparring match. Any volunteers?"

Most of the class stood back, seemingly reluctant to face the fiery woman. "Called it," Sally muttered. She turned to face her cousin, only to realize that she was no longer standing next to her.

"I'll do it!" Penelope declared, stepping forward with a confident look about her.

The red head smirked at this. "You've got guts, but are you sure you're up for the challenge?"

"Yes ma'am! I'm feeling really good about myself right now."

The Amazon laughed out loud, impressed and amused by her eagerness. "Ha! I like your spirit. What's your name, girl?"

"Penelope Carter."

"Well then, Penelope, how about a wager? If you can land one shot on me, just one, I'll throw in some private lessons for you. If you can't… You'll run laps until I tell you to stop. Or until you drop. What do you say?"

"I'm in!"

"That's what I like to hear." The two of them walked over to a nearby mat, taking a stance face to face while the rest of the class gathered around. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, but before we get started, can I know your name?" Penelope asked. "It just seems like the thing to do."

"Call me Artemis."

The next evening (having eventually returned Lauren's call and worked out the details of the outing, which involved asking Cassandra to look after Scarlett) Hector and Zatanna were at a local bar for their double date with Lauren and Vladimir. The bar in question was a quaint establishment, clean and well kept, with a number of other patrons spread about. The two couples were sitting at a booth together with everyone a couple drinks in, though no one was drunk yet. "Hold on, lemme get this straight," Lauren spoke up as Hector finished talking. "Batman showed up in your apartment, tried to intimidate you, stuck his nose into your relationship with Zatanna, gave you a box of condoms, threatened you, and he slammed you into the wall."

"That about covers it."

"That sucks," Vladimir pitched in. "Compared to you, I've got it pretty easy. All I have to worry about is Scarlett."

"Yeah, yeah, she likes you, I know," Lauren brushed him off, keeping her attention on Hector. "Now, you're strong, fast, tough, brave, and from what I hear you know how to fight. So if Batman was acting like such a jerk… why didn't you punch him?"

"Because, even though I was angry at the time, it didn't seem like a very good idea," Hector explained calmly. "Ignoring the fact that he's Batman, I had just gotten out of the hospital and wasn't exactly in top shape. And besides… I had another way to get back at him." Hector looked at Zatanna and grinned, prompting her to smile in return.

Vladimir coughed in surprise, while Lauren grimaced. "Dude… that's-"

"Not what I meant," Hector interrupted. "I simply ratted him out to Zatanna."

Lauren glanced at Zatanna with a look of understanding. "I assume you gave Batman a piece of your mind, huh?"

"Something like that," the magician replied with a satisfied smirk. "There might have been some yelling, and maybe few threats about cursing him with dark magic, but I got him to back off, so that's one problem we don't have to worry about."

Vladimir chuckled at this and signalled for the waiter to bring them another round of drinks. Once everyone was set up again, he raised his glass for a toast. "To overprotective family members. May we have the strength to love and put up with them."

"So, Lauren," Zatanna spoke up after the toast. "How did you guys start going out together?"

Curiously, Lauren seemed flushed at the question, not just from drink, and the corners of Vladimir's mouth were crinkled, like he was resisting the urge to smile. "Ah, well… We were both at a bar one night, just hanging out with our own friends when we bumped into each other. We said a few words, and somewhere in the middle of it there was a comment about women not being able to hold their drink. I wanted him to eat his words, so I made a bet and agreed to go out with him if he won."

"Spoilers, I won," Vladimir butt in, grinning in self satisfaction.

"Why'd you make the bet?" Zatanna asked, curious.

"Well, he'd already had a few and looked a little buzzed, so I thought I could outlast him. It didn't exactly work out that way." Lauren muttered the last part under her breath, causing the others to chuckle in amusement. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."

"Hey, if you're still going out with him after all that, it can't have been all bad," Hector suggested.

"True enough," Lauren admitted. "Except for this one time he brought me a bouquet of flowers and I spent hours sneezing afterwards. Funny thing is, I used to love flowers when I was a little girl, then one day, poof, all of a sudden I couldn't stand them anymore. Or pomegranates for that matter."

"Huh… that's weird," Zatanna remarked.

As the evening went on, they talked about several things amidst further drinks. Zatanna told a few stories about working in the Justice League, Hector about his years living around the world, Vladimir about when his family had moved to America, and Lauren about her time with the military in Afghanistan (which had ended when she'd found out she was pregnant as a result of a fling with Scarlett's father). At one point Zatanna and Lauren excused themselves to use the ladies' room, leaving their boyfriends by themselves. "Excuse me?" a waiter spoke up as he approached Hector with drink in hand. "A woman asked me to bring this to you."

"Does this woman have a name?" Hector asked, doing a sweep of the bar's patrons with his eyes.

"I don't know it. She just asked me to give you this and not tell you who she was." As the waiter set the drink down, he subtly slipped Hector a folded napkin so that Vladimir didn't see it. Written on it was a phone number, as well as the kanji symbol for war. "Anyway, she's already gone."

"Sounds like someone has a secret admirer," Vladimir teased his friend once the waiter had walked away. "Better make sure your girlfriend doesn't find out, or she might turn you into a frog."

"Ah, shut up, you," Hector casually shot back. "Zatanna and I are solid, and I'm very happy with her. It's not like she has anything to worry about, especially some mystery woman."

"Relax, I know you wouldn't do anything to make her worry like that. Hey, at least you got a free drink out it. Cheers."

By the time they were done, Zatanna and Lauren were fairly drunk, while Vladimir and Hector, being larger and with a higher tolerance, were less so. In truth, Hector was the least drunk, having restrained himself in order to keep his wits about him. Lauren and Vladimir had taken a taxi home, while Hector half carried Zatanna (after convincing her that doing magic when she was plastered probably wasn't a great idea) back to his apartment since it wasn't too long a walk. By the time they arrived, her cheeks were rosy, both from the cold and how much she'd had to drink. Stepping into the apartment, he helped her out of her winter clothes, changed the couch into its bed form, and sat her down. "Heeeeey, lover," she drawled, giving him a lopsided smile. "I'm a little overdressed. Wanna take my clothes off? You can get frisky too. I won't mind."

"Not tonight, Zee," Hector said, smiling in amusement as he helped her get down to her bra and panties. "We can have fun when you haven't had so much to drink. Now, you need rest. You're going to be cranky enough in the morning as it is."

Despite her protests, Zatanna was out like a light almost as soon as her head touched the pillow. Taking a moment to ensure that she was in fact sleeping, Hector retreated to his workshop and closed the door behind him. He then took out a phone he kept in the room and dialled the number on the napkin. "Yes?" a woman's voice was heard from the other end of the line.

"I got your message."

"Tell me, what did you sacrifice to the shrine in the forest?" Hector was silent as his mind flashed back to the trials he'd gone through 11 years ago.

"Memories of lost love," he answered. Considering the question, he knew it could only be one person. "I thought it might be you. What do you want?"

"Lazy Panda Motel. Room 103. I'll be waiting." And with that she hung up.

Hector put his phone away and walked out of the workshop, moving quietly. He got dressed to go outside, then looked at Zatanna's sleeping form for a moment and thought: 'Sorry Zee, there's something I need to do.'

Flashback

Hector was tired and soaked in sweat, having marched through the increasingly thick forest for over 20 hours; or so he guessed, judging by the sun that now hung over his head. He'd been walking at a steady pace without any stops, knowing that sleep was a luxury he couldn't afford if he was going to meet his deadline. Since Ares had left him little time to prepare before meeting his mentor, Hector's meagre rations consisted of a small amount of nuts and dried fruits, as well as a single canteen of water that was slowly running out with every sip. The forest provided no sustenance, as the plants were bare, and what animals could be smelled or heard remained hidden away.

However, fatigue and hunger weren't the only things bothering him. Even though the Phlegethon water had healed him, Hector still felt a faint phantom pain where he'd been injured during his fight with the mysterious woman. On top of that, the sensation of the magic water healing him was not easily forgotten. A burning sensation still lingered in his body, though it was beginning to fade like an echo.

As Hector continued walking, he began to feel like something was pulling him forward, as if he was being led by an invisible string. A fog started to cloud his vision, growing thicker with every step as the sounds of the forest gave way to a silence that only his footsteps broke. The feeling grew stronger, tugging on him until he was walking with an energy that belied how tired he felt. He walked deeper into the fog until the trees around him were little more than vague shapes. The pull on his mind changed as he progressed, like sirens luring in unsuspecting sailors with their beautiful melodies, until they crashed their ships into rocks and drowned. Hector suddenly opened his hands wide and slapped himself hard in the face, the noise a sharp contrast to the eerie silence surrounding him. He stood still for a few seconds, his cheeks stinging like crazy as he ignored the pull and asserted his will over himself. Hector steeled himself and continued moving forward, this time of his own accord, the ground beneath him giving way to a brick path.

Eventually Hector spotted something in the distance, and followed the path until he reached a modest wooden hut with several steps leading up to a set of double doors that creaked audibly when he pushed them open. Torches with bright blue flames illuminated the room, two on each wall. The ceiling and walls had paintings of various animals, spirits, and half-human beings, and in the middle of the floor was a well carved into a rock, with the shrine built around it. Ignoring the spooky atmosphere, Hector approached the well, set his backpack on the floor, kneeled down and looked into the water.

The water was perfectly still at first, then rippled and began to show him visions. He saw a soldier begging his captors to stop the pain, he saw a woman who wished to forget the shame she suffered at the hand of people whose faces she couldn't even see, a father that couldn't save his family, a son whose mistake cost him more then he could ever pay, an old man who saw too much in his life and could no longer bring himself to care, a child in torn clothes tossed between a group of adults like a toy, a monster who looked back at what he left behind and wept like a baby. He also saw love and friendship, simple joys brought to those willing to accept them, a mother smiling as a child grew in her womb, lives brought together by mere chance. He felt a lover's sweet kiss and bitter rejection, a mother's gentle voice and cold gaze, a father's clenched fist and reassuring hand. He witnessed people rise and fall, tragedy, success, pain and happiness. He saw lives of people from years long gone and those of more modern times.

Just as had happened earlier, Hector found himself drawn against his will. He leaned down until his face just above the surface of the water. The images stopped, but in their place he saw an empty void without end, like jaws of a predator that could never be sated. Memories of his ex-girlfriend Sahra started to flash in his mind. "No…" He saw them two of them fighting in the marketplace when they'd first met, then glaring at each other as his mother patched them up afterwards. He saw her consoling little Cassandra as she cried over a skinned knee, their first kiss, happy moments spent together. A tear formed in his eye as he felt his feelings for the Thanagarian girl slip away, until it fell into the well, sending a single ripple through the water. In that one moment, he realized the pain in his chest he'd felt ever since Sahra left was gone.

Hector managed to raise his head and saw that the shrine had come alive. An eerie wind was blowing, the doors were opening and closing by themselves, the torches were burning brightly, casting strange shadows as the flames danced, and the figures on the walls and ceiling were moving. Faint, ghostly voices were heard on the wind. "People come to us. They feed us memories. Happy ones, sad ones, angry ones… they all taste so good. But one day people stop coming. We wait, we hunger… but nobody comes. Many, many years pass… Until you. You come to us, and we are so very, very hungry." Hector felt the shrine attempting to feed on him, but he could not move away from the well. He saw his life flashing before his eyes, people he'd met, places he'd been, killing monsters, training with Ares, and much more.

Hector struggled against whatever hold the spirits within had on him, knowing that they would not be content with only a few memories, but he could feel his mental grip slipping, his head bowing down to the well. Then he saw images of himself holding his newborn sister in his arms, watching her learn to crawl, to walk, to speak… "Such passion," the voices said, sounding excited at the prospect of feeding on these memories. "Such love. Such dedication. Sooooo tasty. We want it. We neeeeeeed it. Yesssssss. Come to usssssss…"

Hector latched onto the memories of his sister with an iron will. She was the one he'd sworn to protect, even at the cost of his own life, and he refused to surrender his memories of her. "Like… Hell." Through sheer stubbornness he slowly raised a hand to wipe away the tear forming in his eye before it could fall in the well, then reached into his bag and pulled out a glass bottle of cloudy white water. Though focused on the mental tug of war, he managed to remove the cork, brought the bottle up over the well, and tipped it until a single drop fell in.

In an instant the torches flared and changed from bright blue to blood red, the paint figures started writhing, the doors slammed shut like a clenched fist, and the spectral voices screamed in pain. "AHHHHHHH! It burns! What is this? It burns like a thousand years of hunger!"

Hector felt his mind clear as the shrine's hold on him was severely weakened. "Water from the River Lethe, the river of forgetfulness," he explained calmly. Despite his even tone, he held the bottle in place over the well as a threat, ready to pour out its contents at any moment. "You feed on people's memories to survive, but the River Lethe can make someone forget their whole identity. So tell me… what happens if you lose all of those precious memories? Are you prepared to risk it?"

The voices were quiet as the shrine seemed to recover from the effects of the Lethe water. When they spoke up again they sounded cautious, and worried. "We will release you. We will allow you to leave in peace. We ask only to keep what is already taken, so we may sate our hunger."

"Very well, but know this… bother me again, and… well, you've felt what a single drop could do." The doors creaked open, the paintings returned to their places and stopped moving, the torches dimmed down and regained their original colour, and the water in the well went perfectly still. With the shrine's hold on him gone, Hector put the cork back in the bottle, picked up his bag and walked out of there, keeping the bottle of Lethe water in his hand just in case. The fog gave way as he stepped outside, clearing up enough to reveal the brick path he'd taken… as well as a dozen skeletons lying near the shrine. Hector frowned at the sight but moved forward, leaving it all behind.

It wasn't until he'd gone far past the fog that Hector allowed himself to relax a little and put the bottle of Lethe water away. Despite beating back the spirits of the shrine, he couldn't help but feel like it was a hollow victory. The memories of Sahra he'd felt seeping into the well were still there in his mind, but they were... empty. Any feelings they brought, pain, happiness, sorrow, or love… were gone.

"I swear… Next time I see Ares I'm going to stab him."

Flashback End

Two hours later, at the Lazy Panda Motel, a lithe asian woman with long black hair was in her room, sitting in the lotus position on one of the beds while she waited patiently. Her meditation was eventually interrupted by the sound of someone lightly knocking on the door. "Who is it?" she asked calmly, speaking in Mandarin

"Who do you think?" a deep, grumpy sounding voice was heard outside. "I'm cold, tired, and not in the mood for games. Open the door."

The woman stood up off the bed and walked to the door, her steps graceful as a cat. Opening the door revealed a large man wearing a ski mask with a hood over his head. The woman calmly stood in the doorway, showing no sign of being intimidated by his superior size and height. Seeing that she wasn't going to let him through, Hector sighed and pulled up his ski mask, revealing his face to her. "'The only rules in war are those you choose to follow.' Now that I've proven my identity, may I please come in?" The woman stepped aside to allow him to enter, closing the door behind him. "Thank you."

"You took your time," she remarked as she walked over to a stand where she plugged in an electric kettle. "I expected you earlier."

Hector removed his winter clothes and hung them up on a hook near the door. "My apologies for the delay. If you must know, I've recently caught Batman's attention. I believe he's been keeping an eye on me one way or another, so I had to take certain precautions."

The woman appeared calm and confident as she went about preparing tea, seemingly not concerned about turning her back to him when she went to grab two china cups and saucers from her suitcase. "I assume your new lady friend is the reason behind the Dark Knight's interest in you?"

"That's one reason."

"Is he aware of your secret?"

"He suspects, but has nothing to act on."

"Hmm…" The room remained quiet except for the sound of the kettle. When it was finished, the woman filled a pot of tea, gently stirring for a moment, and when she was satisfied she poured two cups which she placed on the saucers.

Even though he knew how dangerous his former mentor could be, to say nothing of the results of their first encounter, Hector remained level-headed, politely accepting the cup she offered and sitting down on the edge of the other bed opposite from her. "Thank you." Like mirror images, they raised their cups, took a sip, then set them down.

"It's been a long time, Hector Anderson."

"Indeed it has, Sandra Wu-San."

"You've grown a great deal since the last time I saw you," she casually commented. "I hope you haven't forgotten my lessons."

"I have not." Despite their cordial behaviour, there was a subtle underlying tension. They remained calm and in control of themselves, but were discreetly sizing each other up. "I may have gotten strong, but I still remember your lessons very well."

"Good." Sandra paused for a moment to take a sip before speaking again. "I'm curious… didn't you ever wonder how I knew the right words to swear an oath on the River Styx?"

Hector shrugged his shoulders at this. "I always assumed Ares told you what to say. But, now that you brought that up… are you still upset that I used my knives during our first sparring match?"

"I've gotten past that," Sandra said, waving her hand dismissively. "Although, that does bring to mind a certain saying I've heard. 'The massive dominate through might. The tiny survive with guile. Beware the tiny who become massive.'"

Hector took a sip from his cup, and set it down. "Now that we've relieved old memories, would you like to explain what you're doing here? And why it involves me?"

"A number of young children have gone missing," she explained calmly. "So far the police have proven incapable of solving this case, and the Justice League are probably too busy playing hero, allowing for the children to slip under their radar. As such, a group of parents and friends have come together and hired me to find the children and punish whoever took them. To answer your other question, I know you're a skilled detective, so I want your help in finding the children and their kidnapper."

"Hmm… That is… unfortunate," Hector remarked, a pensive frown appearing on his face as he processed this bit of news. "Still… why should I help you?"

"Because I believe this will appeal to your sense of morality." Hector merely raised an eyebrow in response, prompting Sandra to continue. "You may have crafted Spartan's image as a warrior who fights for gods and glory, but I know there's more to you than that. And do you really mean to make me believe you're going to sit back and allow innocent children to get hurt?"

"… No," Hector admitted. "I'll help you."

"Good. Now, this is what I know so far…"

Zatanna opened her eyes as she woke in the morning, only to groan and close them due to the sunlight streaming through the window. "I swear I'm gonna murder whoever's beating my head like a drum." She lay there on her back, trying to deal with the spinning sensation and pounding headache. A minute later she tentatively opened her eyes, blinking several times as her eyes adjusted. "Oh god, how much did I drink?" she wondered out loud. Looking at her right, she realized she was lying in bed next to a large lump. She gave it a nudge, which caused it to grunt, shift positions, then lie still, safe for a slow rise and fall of the blankets. Zatanna pulled down the covers and saw her boyfriend's face. With some effort, she managed to sit up, and through bleary eyes she realized that she was in Hector's apartment. Feeling the urge to vomit, she got out of bed and stumbled over in the direction of the bathroom, catching herself on the counter and again on the wall. Fortunately she made it there in time to kneel in front of the toilet before it was too late.

When she was finished, she stood in front of the sink to rinse her mouth and look at herself in the mirror. She looked a little pale, had bags under her eyes, and a severe case of bed head. "Girl…" she said to her own reflection. "Never go drinking with a Russian again. Bad idea."

Having sufficiently admonished herself, she stumbled back to bed, only to trip and fall onto her boyfriend, exacerbating her headache and waking him up in the process. Hector grunted and began to stir, then yawned and looked over at her with sleep filled eyes. "G'morn. You look funny."

"You don't look much better," she shot back, holding her head in her hands.

"Sure, whatever," Hector replied, apparently too tired to care much about anything. "I made a hangover cure last night. It's in the fridge."

"Can you go get it for me, please?" Zatanna pleaded. "My head hurts too much right now."

"Fiiiine. Jus hang on." Hector pulled himself out of bed and trudged over to the fridge in his boxers, bringing back a tall glass filled with thick green liquid.

"Ugh, that smells bad."

"Tastes bad too, but it'll help with the pain. And nausea."

Zatanna looked at the glass suspiciously for a moment, then grabbed it and gulped it down. "Oh god," Zatanna moaned, scrunching her face up in disgust. "That stuff tastes worse than it smells."

"Trust me, I know," Hector said as he took the glass and went to put it in the sink, then dragged himself to bed and lay back down. "But you'll feel *yawn*… better soon. When you get up, if yer hungry, help yourself to… whatever. Rough night… imma sleep… a bit more."

"You don't have to go to work?" Zatanna asked, her head beginning to clear a little.

"Boss gave me a project… said I could work from home… long as I finish on time."

"Huh… that's convenient. By the way, where do you keep the-?" Zatanna interrupted herself when she realized that Hector had already fallen asleep again. "Oh well."

Beyond Sector 2814

On a certain planet, in a certain city, Sahra Hol and Alisand'r were sitting up on the rooftop of the home they owned together. The two women were enjoying a hot beverage while quietly gazing up at the stars and listening to the buzz of the city's night life. "So… how was your date?" the Tamaranian spoke up after a while of sitting in silence. The Thanagarian let out a loud, frustrated breath in response. "… Ouch. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well, he seemed like a nice guy at first, but it turns out he's racist against humans," Sahra began, the frown on her face betraying her otherwise controlled behaviour. "I think it had something to do with getting arrested by one of the human Green Lanterns, or maybe he was part of a failed incursion on Earth, or maybe he's just naturally like that. I forget. Anyway, when he found out that I'd slept with one, things went downhill, and I ended up throwing him out of a window."

"Seems like a like a fairly tame reaction for you," Alisand'r remarked.

"Yeah, well, as they say on earth: 'Whatev'."

"Hmm…" The two women stayed quiet, just watching the stars. The Tamaranian had a thoughtful look on her face as she considered what to say to her friend. "You know… we could always take a trip back to Earth one of these days. I'm sure that May-"

"No!" Sahra immediately shot back.

"Don't you think Hector should-?"

"No! And you're hardly any better, so don't lecture me about that." The Thanagarian turned to give her friend a look that showed she was clearly annoyed by her attempted proposal. Alisand'r looked back at her with patience until her expression softened. "Look, I understand what you're saying, but it's been a long time, and I'm not sure about seeing him again. I'm worried that he'll hate me for leaving, and that he won't react well to M-"

They were interrupted by a loud metallic clanging sound from inside the house, followed by the sound of breaking glass. The Tamaranian woman merely sighed at this. "Why don't you go for a flight to clear your head and I'll take care of the mess," she offered.

"Thanks. And I'm sorry for blowing up on you." Sahra leaned in for a hug, which the other woman returned. "I promise I'll make it up to you." And with that said, the Thanagarian spread her wings and flew.

Hope you liked it, please review, I'll try to have the next chapter up before 2022. :-)

Couple things to say:

- The title of this chapter is a reference to the Young Justice season 1 finale

- Thanks to "Omega6047" for helping with the shrine scene

- The "Guy in the chair" thing was a reference to "Spider-Man Homecoming"

- Who recognizes the name of Hector's ex-mentor? *If you know DC comics well enough, that should come easy.*