TCM chapter titles, never seen those movies, nuff said.

Chapter Three

Fallen Angels and Uncertain Feelings

Captain Roy Harper in the flesh.

Or should she say, former captain?

Last she heard, Lord Wayne let him go after taking it too far with his drinking habits and many disagreements when the war with the Penguin began. She barely knew the man except for occasional encounters and knew nothing but the best of him. He was a good man with one too many demons. The mother of his child was a former assassin turned mercenary-for-hire who then gave him their child as soon as she was born, so that she wouldn't have had to endure knowing that young Lian would be taken in by strangers and mistreated for not being a blood child.

Kristine's encounters with the captain's young daughter were very few, but from what she heard Jason and Richard say, she was a cute little annoyance as she was like a little sister to them.

Where was she nowadays, after her father was released from his position and she had to go with him?

Lian Harper had to be sixteen or seventeen by now if the young witch had to guess correctly.

Taking in the girl's father as soon as he was inside her room, his cream-colored tunic was dirtied as hell to the point that he needed a good wash, otherwise stitched finely from a woman's touch. Made Kristine wonder who did that for him in his new squad known as the Titans - a ragtag group unofficially associated with Gotham and its neighbors - or if he had it in himself to do his laundry. Very few men did their own work if they had no wives. And Harper's sorry clothes weren't all there was. His face was sunken below the eyes, from the years done to him as well as his mead. Latched around his back were his gold-finished bow of the finest wood nature had to offer, and his silver-feathered arrows the best craftsman could master. His sword's handle was tempered metal of sunlight, opened and swirling like the ocean's waves.

Nothing stopped the soldier in him, or should she say warrior now? He and the man with him were outside Gotham now, but still did Wayne's dirty work.

Was it a dream or a too-good-to-be-true nightmare as she gazed upon the other man who she believed to be dead after the failure to rescue her father? She had put her dagger back where it was, unable to take her eyes off the face which lost the youthful roundness, replaced with angular masculinity and the beauty of Adonis.

The young man she'd known since she was still a child and had longed to have as her husband.

She never got to see the body, just learned from the spread of word that Jason Todd-Wayne had died in battle on enemy territory, but the details were few and far between. And with the war going on, there was no time to bring the body back for a state burial; everything was tight-lipped that not even Kristine had the right to know, causing her to secretly resent Bruce Wayne as he employed her to finish her father's work.

Her father had been taken from her, and that was her fault. She should have listened to Jason that night, but she could only keep moving forward for his sake and everyone else's.

A war had broken out because the boy she loved had died along with many others, one of whom was Richard's best friend. A horrendous pain that could never truly heal with time.

Nothing stopped her from feeling responsible.

Lord Wayne always seemed to have his grievances. He had trained both his adopted sons to be the greatest they could be, both different yet in harmony, but the Penguin had the upper hand; the bastard had grown unpredictable as ever. They lost good men that day...including Jason. The grief had sent Wayne into a spiral that it was a miracle he still managed to maintain his image.

Yet, for some reason, the boy she loved was alive and before her, now a man.

The boy he'd been was still a tad taller than her, lean yet strong, but now he was a powerful beast. His massive shoulders and arms stretched the red-trimmed dark tunic. There in the crown of his luxuriously wavy raven hair was a tuft of snowy white, as though the last half a decade had sped up the aging. His vivid, dark sea-colored eyes now had a faint trace of glowing green like the ignited cores of emeralds.

His weapons - he still carried the ones from his days in the Wayne household. Both of his swords he had on his back, one long and the other short, both being pure steel glowing like the moon, hilted in golden bronze and accented with rubies and the Wayne crest. But there was another surprise that she had never seen on him:

A dagger of intriguing beauty, the handle being gold fitted against the silver. Perhaps it came from somewhere in the east, by the look of it...

He was like she remembered, but so different. He had changed so much, and she didn't need any of her materials to know that.

Without hesitation, she let both men inside and quickly put the locks and the charm to cover the entire room's walls back into place. "How did you know I was here? And Jason - you're alive!" she gasped, staying where she was in front of the door as she observed them making themselves right at home. Harper slumped into the wooden chair on the opposite wall.

"In the flesh." He didn't sound at all like the confident younger boy he'd been. He was somber and sure but withdrawn. Yet his gentle smile for her was still the same.

"You here on business, Kristine?" Harper asked her, reclining with one booted leg crossed over the other.

She nodded. "Yes, and I've just discovered the location of the next stone for the Belt of Gotham, but I'd love to hear more from both of you first." And no doubt it would be one long story to tell. But she'd be happy to hear smaller versions with more time later if time was what they had. "About how you're still alive when I heard you were dead, why Lord Wayne didn't trust ME with the truth -" Yet had an idea and understood even if she had every right to be angry with him. "- and what you have been up to all this time."

Jason laughed, the former captain behind him joining in. "Simple list, but a lot to tell."

She offered to let him sit on the bed, and he just took it upon himself to make himself at home by laying stretched out from head to toe, after she scolded him into keeping his boots off that nice quilt. Then she perched on the foot, half facing him and half facing Harper.

When they told her everything, she didn't find difficulty in believing much of it, even feeling her heart break when they failed to rescue her father, but perhaps it was for the best. The stones and forces of nature assured her that Jonathan was still alive and safe if mistreated only if he toed out of line in captivity, and he was no good dead to the enemy. It also turned out that he was no longer in Penguin's clutches, but elsewhere that track had been lost on him. Kristine was frustrated to no end, but how much longer would he last before she lost him for good?

She was never giving up the search for him, no matter what.

The young knights who served with them that day - one of them had been the best friend of Richard. The survivors barely escaped with their lives and fled to the east of all places, to Nanda Parbat. Of all things they took with them, it was Jason's dead body. He did die at just age fifteen, yet here he was at the start of his second decade. The explanation was a powerful natural phenomenon called the Lazarus Pool, which was spoken of healing the ailing and those on the verge of death, and in extremely rare cases, resurrecting the dead.

The enemy, Ra's al Ghul, who had used the pool for some centuries now on himself, had met his demise when he dared to break his fragile agreement with Bruce Wayne with the intention of using his sons against him. She was proud of her beloved Jason for eliminating him himself.

"So, it IS true," she whispered when the greatest crash of a miracle was confirmed, "your father does have a child of his own blood."

"Damian," Jason said, nodding, arms beneath his head like another pillow. "My brother. He's already a warrior in the making, just like his parents. He tried to attack us both on sight as soon as we bowed to him and announced we shared a father, if not by blood. He tried running us through with two swords." He laughed, chest shaking. "He came around, though, after the time I spent with him. Dick got him to soften up in the heart after what his grandfather had put him through from the moment he started walking." A scowl caused his face to appear older than he was. A chill ran up Kristine's spine at that; children began learning the hard way at early ages, but the way things were in the east, limits were far exceeded compared to home. Everywhere was better or worse with no middle ground.

"I wish we'd been over there sooner and taken him in from the moment we heard the rumors," Roy said with a harsh exhale, "but what's done is done. We've had the honor of helping him while his mother aided us in this war. It's taking a toll on all of us and our resources. Even the best of us..." He let the sentence hang, going without saying.

Jason picked up. "So, yes, we are heading on our way to the base we've established with some amazing people we've met over the years. And since we found you here, you're welcome to ride with us." He grinned cheekily.

"After I get what I came here for. I could use your help then." An opportunity I'll never have again. She was so happy without words that the love of her life was here, alive, and there might be a chance they could pick up where they left off despite the fighting and the world at stake; she had much faith in everything within the universes. She was relieved that they were going to help her just like she promised to help them. "This is all my fault, after all," Kristine said softly, causing both men to jerk into straight sitting positions.

The former captain sputtered. "How the - how the devil is this your fault, Kristine?" he demanded.

She lowered her eyes to the floor, avoiding looking at Jason, too. "Because of me, my father was captured. The boy I loved died, and so did the other men, and more in the last many years. If I had never followed the green star, never mind it was going to change things for the better, then none of this would have happened." And it was a pang of guilt she would live with for years to come.

Was this how any fallen angels felt if not all? She always liked to think so.

"Kristine Crane."

Her full name forced her to make eye contact with her beloved who was now kneeling in front of her; when had he slid off the bed and come around to be where he was now? "Kristine," Jason repeated softly, firmly still, "you recall I was there with you that night -" And from Harper's lack of surprise, he must have been told by Jason at some point after everything went to hell. "- and said it would risk everything, but we all are willing to risk something to do good for the world at large. I made the biggest one ever when I got myself and the majority of the Gotham Knights killed, but you know something, my love?" He then took both of her hands into his, warmth soothing her over her flesh.

"We were both younger and stubborn, dedicated." And still are. "We've learned our lessons and have to live with our decisions. Not everything goes the way we want them to. So, stop blaming yourself and keep moving forward as I have."

"...I've been doing that."

Jason smiled at her. "Then what now?"

Kristine returned the smile. "We save my father, I finish his work, and all of us stop this war."

"Then, after all this is over...will you permit me to court you properly and then make you my bride?"

~o~

Was it the wrong timing to ask for her hand in marriage with a war going on? Yes, but anything could happen, and everyone knew it.

We were both young and stupid back then, but everyone is at one point in their lives.

He was proud that he seemed to have gotten through to her, wasting no time asking her to be his wife. He wasn't a pure-blooded Wayne, but he was part of the family nonetheless. He had first been born a commoner, like her. But what did it matter? He could never imagine his life without her. Five years of being parted was hell enough as much as this real one.

Roy was witness to everything, and he was ecstatic and proud of him and the man he'd become, also wasting no time in getting down to business, since that was why they were really here. Jason remained by her side as she regaled them with her debacles inside and outside Gotham.

"Out here for the next to last in line for the Belt of Gotham. It's confirmed to be right here in Bonte," she answered. "But it seems that nobody is willing to divulge its whereabouts to a stranger. It's sacred to these parts that it's become extremely rare, with no other mining spots known. I've located it, but I do need help getting inside."

There were two stones left to add. Not only was the moldavite the central piece, but she'd acquired petrified wood, from ancient trees common around the world, and this one was from within their homeland. Meant to comfort in troubled times and deal with past and current problems.

Another was the white-layered, rosy jewel known as rhodochrosite - the incredible emotional healing relic native to Tamaran. That made him think back to the one waiting for his missing brother; Dick was why they were out here, to begin with. This stone also made him think about them. It was an incredible emotional healer, allowing the inflicted to move onto a brighter and happier future.

Two stones remained, and a spark burst in Jason's brain when his pocket flared with the warmth.

This is the one that should be next, and then what she's looking for shall be the finishing touch.

"Kristine...what about this?"

Her eyes widened to the size of the exotic treasure in his palm after he produced it before her eyes. "Oh..."

"Kristine," Jason repeated, "will you humbly - no, shamelessly - accept this offering that which was gifted to me by the woman who has left her doors open for my return, and no doubt would have wanted this put to greater use?"

"...yes, I will. Thank you," she breathed, accepting it but keeping her fingers enclosed and atop his still-opened him, before leaning up and planting another kiss on his lips, chastely and briefly this time. Didn't make it less sweet. Her gaze then flared with passion. "There is one more gem to hunt for now that you have given me the Stone of Divinity -" And then the eyes hardened like coal beneath the fires.

"- but the last one is protected by one I should have known would be behind this, just as I believed everything here was too good to be true." And when she told them the pinpoint, the air became a war between northernmost frosted ice and murderous hellish heat.

In the home of the one the entire town called Granny Goodness.

Rhodochrosite is also to help people deal with troubled childhoods and grief, allowing them to move on. All mental gemstones aid in one form or another to overcome the difficulties of the mind.