The Fallout

by Guardian Amulet

25 years after the death of Lois and Jimmy in Gotham, Superman's attack on the city in revenge has left the world paralyzed with fear of the Meta human heroes. In this climate, a new threat is beginning to rise COMPLETE Reviews welcome

4. Chapter 4 The Pentana of Time

Polaris saw the motion Zatanna had made, and was about to say something, when there was a sudden puff of smoke in the room. The magician had dropped her hand, though she had no signs of fear in her face. Olivia had just lowered her bow, and it came back up to threaten the intruder. Standing there when the smoke dissipated was a very short man, with short black hair, dressed in a tiny suit. "The water clock's been stolen!" he said, directly to Batman.

"I apologize for what I had done, but I thought it necessary," she said.

He turned, tiny face wrinkling in confusion. "You knocked me out?" Before Zatanna could reply, Polaris heard a sickening cough, and looked over. He had barely noticed before, but Ollie was lying there, beaten badly and now coughing up blood. She ran over to him, saying a few words as she touched his head. "He's worse off than I thought," she said.

"I thought you said he'd be okay?" Olivia demanded. Polaris put his hand on her shoulder. The muscles underneath were tight, and not just from having the bowstring pulled back still.

"He needs medical treatment."

Olivia opened her mouth to speak, but just shook her head angrily and turned away to the balcony. Hal watched after her, watched as she stopped in mid-stride, mouth gaping. "Oh, bloody hell." Just as she said it, there was a loud explosion that rocked the building. Hal turned to find Batman, but not so much to his surprise, he was gone. The little man was still there, however. He heard the doors to the balcony open, and he turned to see Olivia running out, climbing over the balcony railing.

"I've got it," the little man said.

"Thanks,-?"

"Allo." He went over to the railing and hopped over; already, Olivia had gotten down to the next balcony and was trying to get down yet another floor. Outside, Polaris could finally see the cause of the explosion and the panic that was now taking over the streets. A woman was standing in the middle of the strip, but she was no ordinary woman; she was taller than any of the hotels, and had already torn Bally's in half. Reaching inside, she was starting to drag handfuls of the building's interior outside, tossing it into the street. He noted a tiny puff of smoke, and saw Olivia down at the woman's feet.

Jumping out, Polaris flew over to the danger. A tiny arrow stuck into the woman's calf, but she didn't see Olivia; she saw him. Reaching back with the piece of hotel that she had in her hand, she swung out. Polaris went through the glass and through most of the building before slamming into the solid metal elevator shaft, and being tossed back out. He caught himself before he hit the ground, but he did note one important thing on his trip through the newly made club; there were still people inside. Looking down, he watched as those who had fallen out from the hotel were gliding gently to the ground, and noted Allo seeming to move them with his fingertips. He couldn't find Olivia.

Using the yellow energy, he made a large hand, grabbing the hotel, trying to wrest it from the woman's grip. She pulled back, then grinned. As she shrugged off the energy, she tossed the building back behind her, down the strip. Before he could move to catch it, he saw a giant hand coming towards him. Feeling slightly silly, he struggled to get out of her grip, before calling the topaz-colored energy to create sharp rays, similar to the rays protruding from the star on his chest. The spines cut deep into her hand, making her cry out before opening her hand enough for him to get away before drowning in her blood. As he pulled away, he saw the remains of the building out of the corner of his eye, floating out of the city and into the desert. That high up, he could still see nothing of Olivia.

Holding his arm out, Polaris willed the energy into a thin column, blasting her in the face with light. She turned for a moment and cried out, then recovered, bringing both of her hands together. Unable to get out of the way in time, Polaris was caught between them when there was a sudden flash of light. He once again summoned the spines, making her pull away, and he saw that he was now in the middle of the desert. Only the moon and stars gave any light, making the entire scene seem very eerie. The woman looked down, lifted her foot and slammed it down; Polaris assumed that she had found Allo. There was little he could do for the sorcerer now except neutralize the threat.

The fight between them quickly degenerated into what could only be described as a style of fist fighting; Polaris was letting loose blast after blast from the Qwardian ring, while the woman was batting him like a gnat that kept buzzing too close to the face. The battle raged on, as he felt his strength starting to dwindle. He knew, however, that he could not let this woman win; if she did, then the people of Las Vegas would have no one standing between them and destruction.

Suddenly, Polaris saw a shimmering next to him, and multiple copes of himself appeared in the night sky. He smiled grimly to himself; Allo must have regained consciousness. Though the attempt was valiant, the copies did little to help, as the woman made a grand sweeping gesture, causing Polaris to soar backwards, his helmet flying off to land in the sand. His flight finally ended in the sand, where he managed to get up, ignoring the pain that seemed to course through his entire body. He could see only out of one eye, the other having been swollen shut, his entire body either bruised or bloody. Still, he forced himself to get up and head back. As he made it back, he saw a brilliant purple light coming from the ground. The woman fell backwards, and began to shrink down to her normal size. Polaris landed next to Allo, who looked just as battered as he was.

"We have to get back to the city," Polaris said. Allo nodded, touched his wrist, and there was suddenly a brilliant flash of light and smoke.

With her arrows doing little, Olivia felt the best course of action was to get those still trapped in the casino out of it. The ones who could create giant constructs out of light and made something out of nothing could handle the giant woman; she remembered that there were still people that needed rescuing, and she didn't need any special superpowers to do just that. Running inside, she began to wade through the damage and the people trying to get out. The elevators were gone, the stairs were torn, and those that were left weren't exactly in one piece. There were injured people everywhere, sparks flying from the hundreds of damaged slot machines that still had power. Making her way nimbly through the mess, she began to carry out the wounded, laying them on the sidewalk carefully before going in to find more.

As she began to work her way up through the floors, she heard sirens approaching. Knowing that she couldn't be around when they showed up- unless of course, she wanted to have a nice, friendly conversation with Agent Todd in a dark room- she went into one more room, checking to see if it was clear. The room itself was large, especially for only being on the 6th floor of the hotel. She found one man lying face down, seemingly dead. She gingerly reached out to turn him over, and found that half of his face was gone. Despite that, there was no blood. Instead, there was a matrix of wires and metal, none of which was sparking; no power was left. She frowned at it, picking up the android as she started to make her way to the back of the building. Below her, through the gaps, she could see that the police and fire crews had arrived, and were starting to put out the electrical fires on the ground floor and tending to the injured. Just behind the line of police and fire trucks was a convoy of ambulances.

Making her way carefully down to the street, Olivia made her way unseen through the alleys and finally up to Zatanna's suite. When she got there, she saw an envelope taped to the door. Inside was a rolled up piece of parchment.

'We had to take your father for emergency surgery. Stay here and wait for me.'

Olivia crumpled the paper in her hand and opened the door, dropping the android on the couch. She locked the door behind her and threw down the parchment, searching through the android's pockets. Eventually, she found a wallet with a few credit cards, some cash, and a Nevada driver's license identifying the man as one Brent Stewart. She frowned again at the circuitry inside, and decided to leave that particular problem for later. Instead, she took the driver's license and went to the computer, looking up anything she could find on him.

Behind her, she heard a soft sound and felt a gust of air, though she knew for a fact that the windows were all closed. Looking at the glass over the screen to see a reflection, she saw wisps of smoke, and Allo was suddenly standing in the center of the room, with Polaris. Both of them looked badly beaten.

"Damn," she said, turning around. "What happened to you two?"

"I don't know if you noticed the giant woman rampaging along the strip," Hal said sarcastically. It was then that she noticed his helmet was missing.

"I did," Olivia said. "I just figured the two of you would be better off handling her. Someone had to get in there and protect the bystanders."

"Hey, I got half of them," Allo argued.

"Oh, yeah?" Olivia challenged, leaning over the back of the chair. "Where are they?"

"In the desert, just outside the city."

"Oh. Don't you think they'll need medical attention, or do you plan on having the wounded walk back?" She turned away, looking at the computer screen.

"Good idea."

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up. "Olivia."

"Zatanna took pop for emergency surgery," she said, looking back down. Couldn't they leave her alone? She had something to do, something to take her mind off of what had happened to her family. "Besides, the two of you have to get out of here. The MCC is going to be descending on this place any minute now, and if you're found..."

"Then you have to come with us," Hal said.

Olivia shook her head, then pointed to the crumpled parchment on the ground. "Zatanna told me to stay here," she said. "I'm not going anywhere until she gets back. Besides, I've had it running from Todd. If she shows up, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind."

"That isn't a good idea, Olivia. She has resources. Lots of resources."

"So do I," she growled. "Now, go. Before you're caught."

"I do have to get back to Washington. I'll get in touch with you tomorrow." He patted her shoulder once more, then turned to the balcony door, opening it and flying off into the night air. The draft that came in made her look outside, where she saw a very large neon sign that was sparkling with magic. It read OTHER HALF OF BUILDING THIS WAY. Olivia rolled her eyes and turned around. Allo was still standing there.

"Why the hell haven't you left yet?" she demanded. Please, God, make him leave. I just need to be alone!

Allo shrugged. "I have no place else to be, and besides, I don't think Polaris would have wanted me to leave you here all by yourself!"

"Don't pretend to know my uncle," she said.

"I have to help the people down there. I have to rebuild the city."

"No, you don't."

"But, I feel bad if I don't help them."

"Tough. Deal with it." She wasn't in the mood for his antics, not now. She remembered him when he had first shown up, following Superman, looking like a miniature version of his hero. He had been annoying then, and he was on her last nerve now.

"I don't like to sit around when people need my help," he sulked.

Olivia slammed her fist on the table. "Will you shut the hell up, or do I have to beat you into silence!"

"I'm sorry," Allo muttered, as Olivia went back to her research. "You know, if you're in trouble, you shouldn't be here."

"I have to stay here until I hear news about my father," she replied. "And you should be leaving, shouldn't you?"

"I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Bullshit." She knew for a fact he had plenty of other places he could be; he knew where Wayne Manor was, he had been to DC at least one before, and to Seattle, and she wouldn't have minded at that moment if he had decided to teleport himself to the moon, just as long as he'd shut up. But she knew that wouldn't happen, either.

"What's this?" Allo asked.

I swear, I am never going to have kids if they act like this. "It's an android I found in Bally's," she replied, taking no measures to hide the impatience in her voice. "I found him on the sixth floor, but from what I'm getting here, it's saying he's Brent Stewart, Lieutenant Governor of Nevada." She began to print out the information she had gathered on the small inkjet that sat under the desk, and went over to the android. Already, Allo had his hand on it, eyes closed. She waited for a moment, watching him, until he opened his eyes again.

"I saw an office with windows and a blue rug. It was foggy, as if he was still in wrapping."

Olivia shook her head. "Thanks," she bit out sarcastically. "That decreases the number of places we have to search for eight billion to three hundred million."

Allo looked hurt. "I'm only trying to help."

"You can help by telling me where the hell Zatanna took my father," she bit out, turning to go back to the balcony.

There was only a moment of silence. "Well, he isn't in my range to say."

Olivia frowned, turning. That was new. "You mean, you can look for him? What's your range?"

"About a thousand miles."

"She took him out of the country." Olivia began to pace again, her research all but forgotten. Where would Zatanna have gone? No, her statement wasn't entirely true; he could have been on the east coast, anywhere past the Mississippi. Hell, he could be in India, for all she knew. Even despite the mystery lying on the couch, she couldn't get her mind off of her family. Doesn't do any good to worry about it. Zatanna will come back soon, and then I can decide what do from there. For now, I want to see what else might be up with this android.

Thankfully, Allo had gone silent. She continued to comb for information, though she felt her eyelids growing heavy and her fingers getting clumsy as they moved across the keyboard.

The Yellow Rose was exactly as he had remembered it, down to the stains on the table. Across from him was Senator Wilcox, smiling at him from under the ten-gallon hat he wore. Hal picked up one of the green tortilla chips on the table and took a bite; there was no taste, thankfully. To his left was Einstein, and to the right, the Pope. The former was arguing that Meta humans were unnatural creations, while the Pope argued that all of God's creatures deserved to live their lives. Hal listened in, though oddly enough, Wilcox was silent. He watched as an empty glass was placed down next to him, and Hal looked over at the server. The first thing he noted was the green glove overtop of the hand, and the tight white sleeve that went up to his face, which was covered with a green hood. Hal pulled back, as the glowing white eyes bored into him.

"Your time was not yet up, Hal Jordan," he said, his voice echoing through his mind. "Your penance has not yet been completed."

Hal jerked as he woke up, his hand slamming into the backboard of his bed. The noise startled him even more. Glancing over at the alarm clock on the side table, he saw that it was near to seven AM. Turning off the alarm before it could go off, Hal got up and stumbled into the bathroom. Turning on the light, he ran the cold water in the sink, splashing it up into his face. Looking at himself in the mirror, Hal noted the bags under his bloodshot eyes, his skin seeming quite pale. Before his eyes, his skin turned from pale to white, his visage suddenly altering to that of the Spectre. He jerked back again, the false reflection mimicking his every move.

Turning away from the mirror, Hal went back into his bedroom to change; it was probably all the better that he didn't see the ethereal hand reach out of the mirror after him. In a few minutes, he had gotten himself something to eat, a large mug of coffee, and was in his car on the way into DC. Route 66, as always, was mobbed. The traffic crept along slowly, but from what he could see, there was nothing unusual to the morning rush hour pace. In front of him was a small cooper, with Maryland plates. Just for something else to look at, Hal glanced in the rearview mirror to see a bronco behind him, the man at the wheel staring at his car's tail lights.

Checking the clock, Hal shook his head; it was already 8:45, and he doubted he'd be getting to his office within the next fifteen minutes. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed Claudia.

"Hello?"

"Claudia, it's Hal."

"Ah. Hello, Senator," she said. "I'm sorry, I'm stuck in traffic at the moment."

"So am I," he said. "I probably won't be in until after ten, with the backup on 66."

"Ah. Yes."

"Listen, Claudia. You'll probably get to the office before I do, so I need you to get something together for me. I want to have a press conference today, get some publicity for the new bill. I want all the major news networks there, and the papers. Make it for one O'clock."

"Yes, Senator." She hung up, and Hal put his cell phone away. Looking into the rearview mirror again, he noted the driver of the bronco was gone; in his place was, once again, the Spectre. Hal felt his heart jump, turning around to look for himself. Turning quickly, Hal saw nothing but the same man, still staring at his tail lights.

Looks like I could use a rest, Hal thought to himself. Now I'm starting to see things. Yes, just seeing things; I'll need to start getting more sleep and relying less on the coffee.

Allo awoke just after local dawn. He looked over at the large clock that hung on the wall of the suite, and saw that it was just after 8:00. He yawned, stretching as he rolled off the couch and onto his feet. Looking over at the desk, he saw Olivia was still there, though her head was lying on her arm as she slept next to the computer. The android was still lying on the floor, where she had last put it, face-down.

Not wanting to disturb her, Allo went over and looked at the papers she had gathered, hovering next to the chair. Most of what she had found, he didn't really understand, and not only because he was unfamiliar with her world; the papers were in complete chaos, thrown together without cohesion. She even had some of the effects from his wallet out in between them. She'd want to have all of this organized. She would have done it herself, she just fell asleep.

He took the papers and put them on the ground next to the android sorting them into a nice, neat little pile before looking up again. She'd want to sleep in a bed, too. He put one hand out, lifting her from the chair, but just as he did, she stirred, and opened her eyes.

"Must've fallen asleep," she muttered, rubbing a hand over her face.

"You're really tired," Allo said. "You should go get some sleep."

"I don't need it," she replied, as she looked at the screen in front of her. "This is really disturbing."

"You can figure it out after you've slept," Allo said again, hoping she would see reason. Not that she ever had anyway, but she hadn't hurt him yet (though she did constantly call him names, but from what he had seen of her, she did that to everyone).

"I just need some coffee," she said, finally getting up out of the chair and going over to the coffee pot next to the door. "Has Zatanna been back yet? Did you hear anything about my father?"

Allo shook his head sadly, watching as her shoulders sagged with his response. "No, not yet. I was just looking over the notes you found. Very interesting."

Olivia looked over at the table, then down to the android. "You know, I really hate it when people touch my stuff," she said. "Not to mention, I wasn't done with that."

"Sorry."

She sighed as the coffee pot began to hiss as it finished brewing. She poured the black liquid into a small mug and held it in both her hands. "It's very strange," she said. "Why would anyone want to put an android in office?"

"Maybe something happened to the real one. Maybe he was kidnapped."

"Or maybe the political party wants someone that they can manipulate. People can make deals, but they'll break them when a better one comes along. No, a robot's programmed to accept orders, no matter what those orders are. It's some sort of conspiracy to take over the state, but why Nevada?" She was pacing again, sipping from her mug. "I know it has Las Vegas, but other than that, it's a big chunk of desert. Is it a testing ground? Are they going to try putting robots into offices for California and New York and Massachusetts?"

Allo watched as her brow furrowed. "I wish I could help."

"I know," she growled. "You always want to help, but sometimes, take it from me; the situation is too big. Take yesterday, for example. I couldn't take that behemoth bitch on, so I helped the way I knew how; by getting the wounded out of there. Sometimes you have to forget about the glory and do a little crowd control. The people get forgotten too often anymore. Especially when we're all afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Allo asked, hopping up onto the couch again. He wanted to keep her talking; maybe it would make her comfortable enough to tell him what was really wrong, the real reason her forehead was wrinkled and she staved off sleep.

Instead, she retreated back inside her shell of anger and bravado. "Afraid of us, or hadn't you noticed that the MCC seems to be stalking me like a damn rabbit? Uncle Hal, too. He's gotta have it the worst; not only is he being hunted, but he's a senator. I'm sure the politicking that's involved in that is giving him an ulcer."

"I think he'll be okay," Allo said. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Olivia demanded, glaring at him.

"You should really get some sleep."

"Forget it. I'm not sleeping until I find out why they had this robot built and why it was in Bally's, and how my father is. I wish I knew where they'd gone off to."

"Maybe Atlantis?"

"Atlantis? How the hell do you know about Atlantis?"

Allo shrugged. "I listened in to Batman talking."

Olivia gave him a cold gaze, and took another sip of her coffee. "Yeah, I suppose it's a possibility. I just wish I had a way to find out for certain. I left the JLA communicator back home in Seattle, so-"

Allo didn't give her a chance to finish her sentence. Finally, I can help her and then maybe she'll trust me! He grabbed her sleeve and snapped his fingers, as smoke billowed up around them. In the span of heartbeats, they were suddenly standing in the house that he had first found his hero in. The entire place had been torn apart, as furniture and personal effects lay everywhere.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Olivia demanded, turning to him. "We were supposed to stay in Las Vegas!"

"I can always get us back," he said, somewhat hurt. Didn't she appreciate anything that was done to help?

"Good, get yourself back, then," she said. "If Zatanna arrives, then let me know what's going on."

"I think it'd be best if I stayed here until you find what you wanted. Then we'll go back together."

She paused, looking at him for a long moment. "Fine," she said, turning to go to the back of the house. "But you wait up here, and don't touch anything!" He watched as she disappeared through a doorway. He heard another door open, and her footsteps faded.

Idly curious, Allo looked at the house, squinting. He saw wires through the walls, wires everywhere. Not only did they lead to the sockets and switches, but they also led to a very sophisticated-looking box hidden in the wall, branching out to tiny cameras and sensors located all over the house. He heard footsteps approaching, and saw Olivia coming back out to where he was. Her face was set like stone, and he could tell she was quite angry.

"Go back to Zatanna's," she ordered.

"I don't want to leave you alone here-"

"Listen up, asshole!" she shouted. "Someone came back and trashed my basement, the basement they had left alone up until now. They stole the communicator. Now, I have something I have to do. No one's gonna like it, but I have no choice anymore. Get back to Zatanna's, make sure Kamal knows where I was, make sure Uncle Hal knows, and most importantly, make sure my father's all right!"

"I can't leave you alone," he protested.

"Listen up, squirt, you don't seem to understand what kind of trust I'm placing in you," she said. "I wasn't about to leave Zatanna's because of pop. Now that I'm not going back, don't you think I'm putting a lot of trust in you to let me know if he's going to be all right?"

Allo knew that he wasn't going to be able to convince her otherwise; though he hadn't known her for very long, from what the others said, she was stubborn when she had her mind made up. "Very well," he said, snapping his fingers. He was suddenly on the roof, looking down into the house. Though he couldn't hear, he could watch her as she picked up the phone, pulling a small business card from her pocket. The conversation lasted a few minutes, until she hung up the phone and went into the room that had full bay doors to the outside. There, she got onto a motorcycle and began to drive off north. Bending the light around himself, he flew invisible to the naked eye behind her, as she weaved in and out of the cars on the street recklessly. Finally, she arrived at the airport, and went inside. Allo stood near her as she waited impatiently in line.

Oddly enough, he found that she was saying just as much without words as she had at the house. She was impatient, shifting her weight from foot to foot, playing with the cuff of her patterned over shirt when she had it on, playing with the sleeves when she had it tied around her waist. Her eyes were oddly shifting, showing a quiet fear in them.

No wonder she wanted me to leave, Allo thought to himself. She doesn't like people seeing her afraid. That explains why she's always so mean to me! But, what is she afraid of? She did want me to go back and find out about her father, but I don't think that's what has her afraid. Something else is there. Maybe something about the phone call. Maybe someone needs her help! I should help, too, if I can.

He hovered near her, until she got to the front counter. "One ticket to Detroit, one way." She pulled out her wallet and handed the cashier two thin pieces of plastic. When one was handed back, she replaced it with another.

"I'm sorry, it seems that your cards are not valid."

Olivia was sweating slightly, as she frowned. "I'm going to have to talk to my financial institute," she said. "Those cards are brand new. I'm sorry to have wasted your time." With that, she turned away.

Financial difficulty? He watched as she went up to a pay phone. I can help with money! Shifting himself into the payphone, he transformed it into one of the machines he had seen while in Las Vegas, and began to deposit the coins he had seen into the small trough at the bottom. Instead of picking up the coins as he expected, Olivia turned away and walked down the aisle.

"Allo," she growled. "What the hell are you doing here, I thought I told you to get back to Las Vegas!"

"I couldn't let you go all by yourself," he said. "I just wanted to help!"

"Yeah, that's what you keep saying," she muttered. "Right now, I've gotta get a hold of Todd and figure out how she expects me to get to Detroit when she's frozen my funds."

"That's no problem!" He snapped his fingers, and instantaneously, they were standing on a small street in downtown Detroit, near to the amusement park.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Why doesn't it surprise me that you'd pull something like this?" she asked rhetorically. "Now, I have the problem of getting a room here, and Todd's going to be damn suspicious how I got from Seattle to Detroit in an hour."

Allo frowned, and was about to say something when she turned and started to walk away. He followed after her, until she got to a payphone. Again, she pulled out the small card, which he finally got a good look at. It was more or less plain, printed on a gray paper. The writing was in silver, and had the letters MCC written in a diamond, and a series of numbers below it. She's going to call the MCC? She wanted us out of Las Vegas because she didn't want us to be caught by them! What is she planning on doing?

"Yeah, well, I got some help," he heard Olivia say. "That's the problem. I need someplace to hole up, and I don't think the Detroit police are gonna like me plopping down on the sidewalk. Well, how very generous of you. Yeah, about that, where exactly do you want to meet? Museum of Art? In Detroit? All right, fine. Twenty four hours, got it. Wouldn't miss it for the world." She hung up the phone and turned around, to see Allo staring at her.

"You're going to meet with the MCC?" he asked.

"You're damn straight." She leveled a finger at him angrily "And you are not going to get involved."

"But, that means you go alone."

"Damn straight."

"But, you can't!" he argued. "It's too dangerous. What if something happens to you?"

She turned away, walking down the street, "Oh, I expect it to," she said. "But you being there isn't going to help. You stay out of it, and you stay quiet."

"And what if they try to harm you?" he asked. Before she had a chance to answer, there was a sudden bright light. Looking over, he saw a hand reach out, grab Olivia, and pull her through. He followed closely after, his heart pounding as he wondered what danger he was getting himself into.

By one PM, the steps of the damaged Capitol were filled with people from all of the major papers and news networks. Hal smiled to himself; the publicity was gong to be great, especially coming from the senator everyone had thought dead. Exactly as he wanted it.

Claudia announced him to the press, and he stepped up behind the podium that had been set up on the steps. Behind him, the Capitol showed the damage it had sustained only a couple days ago. Still, with all of that damage, there had been no fatalities, something unheard of in this day and age. Perhaps twenty five years ago, it would have been expected. It was time to get the world back to that time.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I come to speak to you, to all of you, about the events of the past few days. Yes, it is true that I was attacked by a Meta-human. However, I feel that the attempt would have been prevented had we allowed those whose intentions are noble to act as they had in the past. I may be dating myself, but I remember when such catastrophes as that behind me had no casualties. It was the norm, not the exception as this is." He again gestured behind him. "We have it in our power to change that. All we have to do is lift these bans on the Meta-humans, to allow them to protect us from their super powered nemeses as we have in the past. It is important that we take a stand now, and that we make our voice heard; we will no longer tolerate this injustice in our society. Please, speak to your elected representatives and make certain that they know your stand in this matter." Hal silently took a deep breath, as he said, "Now, I'll take any questions?"

The questioning was fast and furious, mostly surrounding the people's fears of the Meta-humans and gauging his own reactions to them. Finally, he stepped down from the makeshift podium and made his way through the press and into his car. Claudia drove him over to the temporary senate offices, where most of his work was currently sitting in boxes marked in Claudia's precise yet flowing handwriting. He sat down, sighing as he did. His part was done; it was up to the press to decide what spin they would put on his words. He could guess which stance some of them would take, though some never made a real clear stance on whether they were liberal or conservative networks or papers. As he sat down, he looked over at the twelve files that were sitting on his desk. He was looking for those who he could hope to garner support for his bill with. And any reason I could hope for to avoid having to go to Texas. After a half hour of cursory scanning, he had put aside a half dozen names. They were senators who had shown some tepid support of his ideas, and would be the ones who would most likely support him if he put a little pressure on them.

"Claudia?" Hal called through the open door.

She looked around the corner. "Yes, Senator?"

"If you would, I'd like you to call Senator Hutchinson. Set up a meeting between us to discuss the bill."

"Yes, Senator." He could hear her speaking quietly a few moments later, and he went back to paying attention to his own work. He was again working on the bill itself, trying to smooth out the language. "Senator, I have a meeting for you and Senator Hutchinson on Thursday at the White Elephant," Claudia told him.

"Thank you." As soon as he finished the sentence, there was a brilliant light. It coalesced itself into a doorway, and from it came a woman in black and white. Zatanna. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to find the last piece of the Pentana," she said. "There isn't much time. You're the last one."

Hal sighed and rolled his eyes, getting up and going through the doorway.

It was rather early when Kamal heard his phone beep cheerfully, letting him know he had a text message. Having just got back to the manor a half hour before, he had already had three cups of coffee and eaten. Looking down at the face of his cell phone, he recognized the number of the cell phone he had left for Olivia. Opening it, he read the message she had sent.

I had an emergency, I need you to get to Zatanna's and find out what's happening with my father. It'll be worth your while: I left you a little present on the couch. I figured you'd be able to find out more about it than I could.

Kamal frowned as he closed the phone. "Minshi, have the plane readied. I need to go back to Las Vegas."

"Very good, Master Wayne," she said, as she cleared his plates away.

A few hours later, he was back at Zatanna's, having let himself in. Landing at the airport had been tricky, as most of the flights had been cancelled and were being diverted to other cities due to the cleanup effort on the strip, but he succeeded, and was kneeling down next to the android that he had found lying on the floor in front of the couch. He also found that the couch's pillows were moved, the chair at the computer had been moved, and a few drops of coffee had been spilled onto the table. It looked like she had stayed the night, but there was no evidence of her leaving by the door, or climbing down from the balcony. It wasn't much of his concern; if she had managed to get the message to him, then she was all right. More and more, he was getting a disturbing feeling being around her. It wasn't just that she didn't like working as part of a team, a trait they both shared; no, there was something else there, something more….if not exactly sinister, then something like it. He was starting to get the distinct sense that he couldn't trust her, and it started when she had run up onto the roof with him the night before.

Sitting next to the android was a stack of papers, identification and personal information that identified him as Brent Stewart. At least she's learned how to do her homework he thought. He quickly pulled his laptop and a few wires out of his briefcase. Carefully looking over the android, he managed to find a place to link it to the computer, and began to search the hard drive. After a few moments, he found the main memory storage, where the information about his identity and his current activities had been held. Along with that was an encrypted area. With only his laptop, it wouldn't be possible for him to crack into the encryption there; however, it would be simple when he returned home to Gotham. He copied the drive that he had access to, for further investigation.

As he closed the laptop and placed it back in his briefcase, he noted a flash of light that strengthened his shadow against the wall. Spinning, he saw Zatanna standing in front of him, looking somewhat tired. "Good to see you again."

She spun. "You're not the one I expected to find here."

"Olivia asked me to wait for you," he said. "And to look over that." He gestured to the android on the ground. Zatanna only glanced at it.

"I was hoping to keep her out of trouble."

"Good luck with that."

She almost cracked a grin. Almost. "I found the last piece of the Pentana," she said. "We have to secure it immediately." With a wave of her hand and another backwards sentence, a light appeared, that soon coalesced into a doorway. She reached into it halfway, leaving only one fishnet-clad leg on her side of the portal. Through it first came Olivia, then Allo, and finally, Hal. By then, he was in the cowl, standing near the door.

"What the hell?" Olivia demanded. For once, she actually looked truly angry, not just blustering. "Did you happen to think that I was in Detroit for a reason!"

"It can wait," Zatanna said. "We have to get the last piece of the Pentana of Time."

"We better be back by tomorrow morning," she grumbled. "I've got a meeting."

"With who?" Zatanna asked, as the girl pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one and taking a deep drag off of it.

"With Agent Todd!" Batman had not expected the information to come from Allo. Though Zatanna looked at him, both his and Hal's eyes were on Olivia. She looked up.

"What?" she asked.

"Todd?" Hal questioned, as he looked down at his hand. In a moment, he was dressed as Polaris again, helmet and all.

"I have my reasons," she said around the cigarette. "I don't recall it being any of your business."

"We don't have time for this," Zatanna said, as she made a gesture and said a word. Immediately, they found themselves in the middle of a hot, dry desert. On all sides of them was a rolling brown wasteland of sand and dry brush, but in front of them was a very large rock. On the rock was an inscription, written in an old language.

"This where the Pentana's being hidden?" Olivia asked.

"I believe it is. At least, that's how the inscription makes it sound."

Batman watched as Polaris lifted the rock, placing it down next to the entrance. He then went over and started down the ladder into the dark tunnel. Olivia was standing just over it, in clothing he had never seen her in before: a green sleeveless tunic and shoulder-high green, tipless leather gloves, green tights and knee-high boots. She was the next one to go down, once Polaris had said the area was clear. He was the last, and he quickly melded into the shadows, moving ahead of the rest of them.

"I sense a great deal of magic in this place," he heard Zatanna say. "Yes, I believe the last clock is held here."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Olivia asked. Her voice wasn't muffled; she must have gotten rid of the cigarette. He didn't wait any longer, kept going down the cave. Everything was dark, save for the light that came from Polaris. He was far enough down the cave that the light was negligible, and he relied on touch and sound, moving swiftly through the tunnel. Coming to a large antechamber, there were five halls.

Batman looked at all of them, and noted that there were etchings on the right hand side of each door. Looking at each, he noted that they were crude images of the clocks that made up the Pentana of Time. Choosing the hall with the unfamiliar rune on it, he started down that hall. Behind him, he could hear the rest of the party coming closer, and he moved into a small hollow in the wall. It wasn't long before the others found him, Polaris having tracked him using his ring.

"It's a dead end," Batman said.

Allo frowned. "No, it isn't," he said. He walked straight for the wall-

-and disappeared through it. The four of them followed after him, coming to another long, dark hall, and finally to a large antechamber. It was easily twice the size of the cavern that he had found the five tunnels in, and was mostly empty except for a raised mound of earth in the center. Sitting on it was a box, roughly the size of a coffin, covered in magical runes.

Batman took one step forward, and saw a blue of motion out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Ra's Al Ghul standing there, Ubu behind him, and three dozen assassins waiting. A dozen of them had pulled back on bows, and fired. Diving back towards the small hall, Batman shouted, "Duck!"

The others were too slow. One arrow each pierced Allo, Polaris and Olivia, and three hit Zatanna. She dropped unconscious, as the others reached for their wounds, pulling the shafts from their bodies. Batman caught the slight color tint on an arrowhead that Allo pulled from him; poison. He reacted just as quickly, rolling in three smoke pellets to obscure the assassins' vision, and charged in. He was heading straight for Ubu.

He managed to find him in the smoke, as the assassins began to move through it, heading for the other three heroes waiting outside it. He struck out, but hit Ubu in the center of mass, doing little more than letting him know he was there. In a moment, Ubu had him in a very tight bear hug, though he managed to quickly get out of it by sliding down to the ground and kicking up. Batman managed to avoid a few wide, lumbering swings from him, though the last he grabbed his arm, flipping him up over his shoulder and out of the fog.

Moving quickly, Batman leapt out to the pillar that Ubu had damaged when it stopped his flight. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Polaris and Green Arrow doing what they could against the assassins that had come to challenge them. Polaris was blasting yellow energy out at them as they tried to swarm him and bring him down, while Arrow was in an archery contest with another six. As he was about to grab Ubu, he turned his head and noted Allo, standing at the chest with a large shifting rainbow bubble around him. Ubu landed a pretty swift punch, but Batman rolled with it, grabbing his arm and forcing him down to the ground. He landed on top of him, slamming his head into the stone floor.

"Stop this, immediately!" he heard Ra's say from off to his left. Batman didn't bother to glance up. He was still wailing on Ubu, until he was nearly unconscious, then finally got up off of him and looked over. Ra's had Olivia held up in front of him, a knife to her throat. He had cut her just enough for her to bleed, and had her left arm held uncomfortably high, as she struggled to keep a grip on her bow. Polaris had turned, and had his fist aimed at Ra's, anger in his face, and some slight panic. There was pain in the girl's face.

"Bring him back," Ra's demanded. "I will have the clock, or she dies." To illustrate his point, he pulled on her shoulder, dislocating it with a sickening pop. Olivia cried out, grinding her teeth together. Her face was turning gray, as the blood ran down her exposed throat, onto her tunic. Polaris pressed his lips together.

"Let her go, now!" he demanded.

"Find the imp and tell him to return my clock to me."

Polaris let out a terrible shout, and used the yellow energy to create a large magnet, a magnet that pulled the knife away from Ra's. It ran across Olivia's throat as it did, just lightly. She let out a frightened cry, her eyes going wide until she realized that the wound was not fatal.

With the knife suddenly gone, Batman saw his chance. He leapt forward, rushing at Ra's exposed, unarmed hand- the only part of him that Batman could see, as he used the wounded archer as a human shield. Ra's was ready, however; he grabbed him by the shoulder and flipped him backwards. He flew through the air, hitting the column with enough force to snap his head forward then back. He lay on the ground for a moment, stunned and in pain.

"Now, you will contact your friend and have him return the piece to me, or I will kill her." Again, he heard a strained scream from Olivia. She was going to lose consciousness, and fast. Opening his eyes, Batman caught a flash of movement as Polaris made his way out of the antechamber. Ra's dropped Olivia onto the ground, forcing her onto her face. He motioned for Ubu, who stood up and grabbed her arms, holding them behind her painfully. She struggled, favoring her left arm.

"You won't get to him without her help," Olivia said, motioning with her head to Zatanna. Her voice was weak.

"Silence, infidel."

Batman finally managed to get to his feet, Walking forward as Ra's turned to him. "You'll regret that," he promised. He pulled the sword from his back, as Ra's grabbed one from a dead assassin nearby. They squared off, looking at each other past the blades for a long, tense moment. There was no more confusion; his grandfather was his enemy, to be dealt with as such. There was no turning back.

Their blades intercepted, over and over, until Ra's stepped back. He turned to look at the ground, as suddenly a yellow fist came up, grabbing Olivia and Ubu, pulling them down into the earth. Batman went to strike, but Ra's moved out of the way, and motioned gently with his hands. The dozen assassins that had been standing in wait suddenly rushed forward, striking at him fro every side. He did what he could to dodge them, but they were clustered to close; each movement he made only caused him to run into another punch. He took down the assassins one by one, ignoring their strikes as he made his way to the prize. Unfortunately, by the time he had gotten free of them, he found Ra's Al Ghul gone, as was Zatanna.

Batman quickly made his way out of the cave, to where he found Polaris, kneeling down over Olivia. She was unconscious, bloody and badly bruised. Zatanna was getting shakily to her feet, rubbing her head as she blinked. "Ra's is gone," he said.

Polaris looked over for just a moment, before looking back down at Olivia. "Her arm's been dislocated," he said.

"Where did Ubu go?"

Polaris motioned vaguely off to his right. "I sent him packing after he gave her a concussion," he said, making no attempt to mask the anger in his voice. Polaris or not, he was still protective, not as protective as her father, but then again, he was also more level-headed than her father, as well. It seemed to be the general consensus, still: she was young, and needed someone there for her. Batman wasn't about to complain; he knew something was up with her.

"We need to find out where Allo went with that clock," Zatanna said.

"Olivia needs-"

Before Polaris could finish, Zatanna was gone. He sighed, and looked at Batman. "Shall we?" he surrounded the three of them in yellow light, and started to make his way east, back to America.

Olivia awoke from the pain. Her left shoulder ached terribly, and she had a horrible headache. Reaching up, she touched her forehead, where the lug had hit her. She then touched the bandage that was around her neck. She looked around, and finally recognized one of the bedrooms in Wayne Manor. Getting up carefully, she found that she was in silk pajamas. Her clothing had been folded and pressed and put on the dresser nearby. Wrinkling her nose at the work that had gone into such care, she opened the door.

"Hello?" she called into the hallway. She started to walk down it, her bare feet sinking into the plush carpet with each step. For a moment, she had a nostalgia feeling of being home, of walking down the hall in the mornings, heading downstairs for breakfast, her mother at the stove… Quickly, she banished the thought from her mind, before the tears could come; before reality strained those memories.

"We're in the kitchen," she heard Kamal call back.

"Great," she shouted back. "Where's that at?"

"Just follow my voice."

Eventually, she made her way into the kitchen, as large as her living room and kitchen at home combined. Kamal and Minshi were sitting at the table, eating dinner. She walked over and sat down, the tile floor cold against the soles of her feet. "Good to see you up and moving," Kamal said. Mishi got up and went over to a small cabinet. Opening it, she pulled out a plate, and placed it down in front of her. Olivia thanked her, eating quickly. She didn't realize just how hungry she was. Checking the clock on the wall, she noted that it was after seven PM. Her stomach dropped.

"What day is this?"

"You've been asleep all afternoon," Kamal said.

"I have to get to Detroit," she said. "I have a meeting at the art museum tomorrow afternoon."

"With Agent Todd."

Olivia looked over, noting the wryness in his voice. "Yeah, Agent Todd," she replied. "And before you start, I already had this argument. I'm not changing my mind."

Kamal sighed. "At least, don't go alone."

Olivia shook her head. "I'm not going to be naïve and tell you not to follow. I already know what you do. Just, don't get yourself involved. I know that Todd probably has something planned, but I'm going to be the one to find out, not you." She said the last in a tone to tell him that there would be no room for discussion.

"What are you covering for?"

"For pop," she said. "Todd already trashed the house. I was just lucky he was at the shop at the time. If she wants to get pissy again, there's no one to stop her. I have to make certain he's safe."

"He's safe," Kamal assured her. "It would be too much of a pain to go through the extradition process just to get to you."

So, her hunch that he had been taken out of the country was right, after all. "Where?"

"The Swiss have some of the best medical facilities in the world. I'm sure he'll recover quickly."

Olivia smiled somewhat. That was one less worry on her mind. "Thanks," she said.

Kamal stood up. "I have something I want to show you," he said. Frowning, she followed him, out of the kitchen, through one of the many halls, and down into the cave. The stairwell was in poor shape, but it held their weight just fine all the same. He took her past the green, boiling pit in the center, past the beaten computer and the bench she had used her last stay at the Manor. He opened one of the large metal doors, and took her through a room that seemed to be nothing but disarray. Large, oversized objects lay at odd angles and on their sides throughout it.

"All this stuff from your father?" Olivia asked, as she looked around behind a large playing card. Nothing on the back.

"All but this last one."

Olivia frowned and turned, as he pulled back a large curtain. Behind it was a very strange machine, a small capsule with dozens of tubes leading to and from it, to a larger opaque capsule. From the larger capsule were two large tubes that also held the same green liquid that was in the main chamber. "What the hell is that?"

"I suppose you could say it was my mother."

Olivia's head snapped around. "What?"

Kamal sighed, walking over and touching the contraption gently. "My grandfather was not happy to hear of my mother's pregnancy," he began. "When he found out, he tore me from her body, but as I was his blood, he did not kill me. No, he put me in here, until I was to term. I was born in this, halfway across the world. When I came to Gotham, I took this with me; to remind me how family can twist one's judgment." He turned poignantly to Olivia.

"Is that why you told me this?" she asked, annoyed. "Thanks for the caveat, but I think I know what I'm doing."

"I don't think you do, Olivia."

"No one asked what you think," she snapped, turning around. "I need to go to Detroit. Just think of it as getting me out of your hair."

Behind her, she heard Kamal sigh. "Very well. I'll have Minshi drive you to the airport. You can take one of my private jets."

Olivia nodded, stalking out, making certain to keep her face obscured from Kamal. She was angry, definitely; how dare he compare his own experience to her family? Besides, there were better ways of getting the point across than dragging her through the cave and to the abomination of a contraption that he kept. Memory, my ass. Mom had a reason for what she did. We were an alternate reality; our lives were fake. It didn't matter if we died, because we weren't real in the first place. I know what she was thinking. Don't I?

She made her way back up to the hall, where Minshi had just entered. "Ah, Master Wayne." Olivia turned to see Kamal just behind her. "I want to remind you of the art expo tonight."

"Yes, thank you, Minshi."

"Your invitation also requests that you bring a guest."

Minshi looked over at Olivia, who turned to Kamal. He was looking at her, too. "What?"

"Go with Minshi, she'll get you ready."

"Ready for what?"

Kamal smiled. "To cause a scandal."

Before she could say anything, Minshi had taken her by the shoulders and took her upstairs. After almost two hours of poking and prodding, she was seated in one of the large stretch limos that Kamal owned, on her way to the art museum. She looked out of the tinted windows, trying to cling to her annoyance. The truth was, she was sort of glad Kamal had asked her to go. If it was scandal he was looking for, then she was going to do her best.

They finally came up to the museum. There was a large banner out front, and hanging from every column, proclaiming the opening of the sculpture exhibit of a Vincent Raquellen. The limos were pulling up to the red carpet that had been laid out from the stairs of the museum to the curb, their occupants disembarking in a frenzy of press and photographers before they drove off.

Kamal was the first to get out, looking quite handsome in his tuxedo. He turned and offered Olivia his hand as she got out. Her gown was nothing like what she would normally wear: it was sleeveless, low cut, with a long slit up the right side of the skirt. Three inch stiletto heels finished the piece. She smiled and looked around, as she saw some of Gotham's richest and most prominent figures.

Inside, the museum was covered with them, and her smile turned to a sneer. They were pompous, arrogant, self-absorbed. "You know, pop would have a heart attack if he knew I was here," she said quietly to Kamal.

"You know, your father used to run in some of these very circles."

"And he's not proud of that fact, either."

Kamal shook his head somewhat. "The Queen Fund has done almost as much as the Wayne Foundation for helping people."

Olivia shrugged as she looked around. There were wait staff in formal dress, carrying hors d'oeuvre and drinks to the patrons who stood around in small group. In the center was a somewhat raised platform, and a man stood in the center of the largest group. He had on a pair of large glasses, a very flowing white shirt with gold cuffs, and a pair of awful purple slacks with lace going down the sides. "So, what am I supposed to do here?"

"Anything," Kamal said. "You're here to cause a distraction. You are Kamal Wayne's date, after all."

She grinned; perfect. "Then I'll see you in a little while."

"Where are you going, Olivia?" Kamal demanded.

She reached up and took a glass of wine from a server's tray as she came around. "To mingle," she replied over her shoulder, walking through the crowd as she sipped on the wine. It was good; too good. It tasted like wood soaked in vinegar, and she forced it down before putting it on another server's tray. As she paused to do so, she overheard some of the conversation behind her.

"…luxury tax is astronomical!" a man bemoaned. "I honestly don't see the point in such a tax. It's not as if they'll be making much off of it; only the rich can afford such items."

Olivia spun, grinning slightly. "See, therein is the genius of the tax!" she said, butting directly into the conversation, ignoring the confused glances she was getting from the overweight, overly pale men in terrible tuxedoes that only accented their weight. "In order for a tax to be worth it, it has to create revenue, else what point is there in a tax, hmm? Now, the only problem you have is that you don't see why there is a luxury tax. The point of the luxury tax is to allow you to keep getting these luxuries; someone has to pay the men on the docks to ship it all the way from China, and they must handle it delicately because it is, after all, hand made. Besides, where do you suppose we can afford to give you an across-the-board tax break if we don't tax luxuries? If the government only taxed luxuries, then you'd have more money to spend on them, if you do the math."

The one man had excused himself from the conversation, but the other stood there smiling. From the glazed-over look in his eyes, she could tell that he wasn't paying attention to her words. "Well said, young lady. It's refreshing to see someone so interested in financial affairs. And you are?"

"Olivia," she said with a broad smile.

"Well, Olivia?" He held out one large, fatty arm. She forced herself to take it. "Have you met our guest of honor?"

"I can't say I have."

The man smiled. "Well, he and I are acquainted." And I should be impressed? Please…. "It would be a simple matter to introduce you."

Olivia smiled. It was better than she could have planned. "I'd love that!" She glanced over her shoulder to see Kamal standing in the midst of a half dozen women, all laughing as though he were actually funny. The fat man led her to the raised platform, where the man was lording over his group like a small tyrant. "Oh, well now," he said, his eye catching her and looking over her quickly. "Who is this lovely woman?"

"Olivia," she said.

"What kind of a name is that for a woman?" he asked, as the others around him laughed.

"What kind of an outfit is that for an artiste?"

He glared at her, and those around him fell silent at her brash remark. "Well, I can see there's no accounting for taste in the young," he said, turning his nose up. She smiled as he took insult.

"Well, I have enough taste to see that you're fortunate to be at the Gotham museum. The Smithsonian would never take your work."

"Smithsonian, bah!" he snorted. "They wouldn't know art if it bit them. And neither, for that matter, would you."

Olivia smiled. "I'm something of an artist myself," she said. "I just have a different means to that end. Besides, my art isn't being silently laughed at behind my back."

"You impudent whelp!" Olivia had a feeling he was going to continue, but the sound of broken glass suddenly filled the museum. Olivia looked up quickly, as the glass started to rain down on them. She pushed Raquellen to the floor, rolling down off of the raised platform. She watched as a single figure slid down to the marble floor on a rope. She wore a skintight purple leotard, black gloves and boots and a mask over her face with small, catlike ears, and a tail. She dropped a bag on the ground

"Sorry to drop in like this, but I'm going to need all of you to free yourselves your wallets and jewelry. Now!" Olivia moved to the front, standing in front of the woman. She looked over her, a slight smile on her face. "You too, sweetie."

"I don't think so," Olivia said.

The woman cocked one eyebrow. "Well now, you have an attitude, don't you?" She shifted, her hands coming up, the tips of her gloves showing sharp claws. "Care to dance?"

"Don't mind if I do." Olivia kicked down on the heel of her shoe, flipping the removed heel up into her hand. Quickly, she threw it, the point heading straight for her. Easily, the woman turned and swung, batting the heel out of the way.

"Not bad," she said, then sprung forward. Olivia jumped back, but not before the claws sliced across the front of her dress. The woman smiled. "So, what's your name, sweetie?"

"Ladies first," Olivia said. She started to dodge out of the way, as the woman moved closer and closer. She finally let out one well-placed punch in her mouth. She backed up a step, touching her lip and seeing blood on her fingers. She only smiled broader.

"Ooh. I didn't know you cared," she said, a glint in her eye.

Olivia rolled her eyes. She went for another punch, but the woman caught her arm and easily flipped her. Olivia could have gotten her balance…if she hadn't ripped at her still-sore left arm. She instead crashed into a pillar, falling through the table underneath. The woman came over, as she tried to get to her feet, landing on her chest. Again, her shoulder was jarred, as she stared up into the young woman's face.

"You mind getting up?"

"Yes. I'd love to stay and play a little more, sweetie, but I gotta run." Olivia didn't react fast enough as the woman leaned down and gave her a very long, very deep kiss. She bit her lip slightly, making her bleed just a little before pulling back. "You'll see Puma again, sweetie." With that, she leapt off of her and climbed back out through the broken skylight windows, bag over her back. Olivia managed to get up to her feet, touching her bleeding lip. She came out of her disbelieving trance when she heard sirens.

Oh, damn.

Quickly, she slipped out the back, abandoning her shoes, and making her way back to Wayne mansion barefoot.

It was late evening in Virginia, and it had been a very long day. Hal couldn't even bring himself to make a decent meal; instead, he had a TV dinner that had just been heated, and he was sitting in front of the TV. There, of course, was nothing on, and the dial finally rested on LNN. The commercial was just ending, and the female anchor was just coming back.

"This hour on LNN, the volunteer evacuation of Cancun as Hurricane Veronica makes its way towards Mexico has become mandatory. But first, we at LNN have finally received confirmation of a Meta-human tearing across Pittsburgh. This after three days of rumors of a Meta-human who has been described as, quote, "Featureless and shifting", unquote. The National Guard has been called in to the city to help protect a populace that is on the verge of paranoia. This, in the wake of the brutal attack on the city's police headquarters only a few hours ago."

Hal sighed, pushing away the tray. Vigilance can't take breaks, he thought, as he called the ring to his finger. He made his way through the night sky, north to Pittsburgh. It didn't take him long to find the city, and not much longer before he found the police station. The police tape was around it, and there were armored troop carriers and national guardsmen near the entrance.

As he watched, a car pulled up, and two men got out, both of them flashing FBI badges. Hal waited, watching from a distance as they exchanged words. The sudden blur of motion came as a shock, and he was barely in motion as he saw something form up from the street. She was truly ugly; her whole form seemed to shift as an amorphous blob of white and red. She threw her arm to the side, her fingers forming into blades as they skewered one of the FBI agents.

Polaris was the only reason that the blades on her other hand didn't kill the other agent. Instead, the blades sank deep into him, seeming to wrist and wrap around his ribs. He cried out in pain as she pulled. He flew up, hoping to dislodge her from him. Instead, her arm stretched, until he pulled her off the ground. She was still pulling, and he lost his concentration momentarily to the pain. Polaris fell, crashing through the roof of a large, flat building and tumbling into a pile of carpet samples. The shifting woman was there soon, standing before him with a horrifically twisted grin on her face.

He reached out with the ring and slammed her with yellow energy- or tried to. Her body forced a perfect circle around the blast, as she reached out, sinking her blades into him again. Seeing that her shifting needed room, he formed a large box, hoping to hem her in. Instead, she moved out of the way. Before his eyes, her body changed, turning into a large cannon. He flew backwards from the blast, through three racks and into the lighting section. As he managed to untangle himself from the mess of glass and wires, he saw the woman coming forward. Her eyes, bulging as they were, were filled with rage. He sent a quick energy blast at her, one that hit square in her center of mass. She flew back, into one of the downed racks, and dripped down as a puddle onto the ground. As soon as she lay still for a moment, she began to reform.

Seeing that he was in for a tough fight, Polaris steeled himself. She glared at him, turning her body into a rocket, rushing at him. She hit him square in the chest, shifting slightly into a missile as she did, exploding as she pinned him between herself and the concrete floor. She shifted again and leapt off of him. Polaris expected she would have struck again, had he not heard the sounds of footsteps, and one man shout out, "Freeze!"

Looking over, Polaris saw two men in black suits, each holding a large, rifle-like weapon. He saw a flash of movement, as the shifter went for one of them, her fingers as blades again. He put up a wall in front of the agent, though the shield shattered into tiny yellow chips. The man had enough time, however, to get out of the way in time. He fired on her, a strange blue glow that radiated from the barrel of the weapon. The hit made her scream, as she became an amorphous mass.

The other man fired at him. The blue glow seemed somewhat familiar, though at the moment, he couldn't put his finger on why; the sudden migraine that split through his head prevented him from thinking more or less about anything else. He forced himself into the air, flying out of the building and into the sky. He felt the gun hit him again, as he felt his will wavering.

His will.

It was then that Hal realized that they were not FBI; they were MCC. And they knew who he was. They also knew that his old ring and his new ring were powered by sheer force of will.

Great, he thought, as he hovered a few miles above the ground, his head spinning. Focus, Hal. Focus! You can't go back to DC, not in this shape. Todd could make her move any moment, and you don't want to be out of form for that. Home's probably wired. Think, there has to be-

Suddenly, the answer hit him. He headed west, into the night as fast as he could, crossing over the country until he finally came to California, almost two hours later. By then, he felt horrible, barely able to keep his focus enough to use the ring. He found the abandoned strip of land, and the silos, buildings, and landing strip that had once been Ferris Air Field. It was, of course, now closed, and he welcomed the privacy as he landed, searching through the area on foot.

He managed to find some old stores of rations, which of course never went bad (or started out bad), and found that there was still water running to the place. The first thing he did, besides changing back to his old, human form, was to take a long, cold shower. The icy water stung at his cuts as the blood was cleaned away in the daze he was in. It almost felt like he was drunk, but much worse. At once, he finally felt something click in his mind; the blue energy, that had seemed familiar, definitely was. He had seen it course over Clark when Olivia had shot him with one of her arrows. He didn't know what it meant, but at the moment, it didn't matter, either. The yellow ring sat on the sill in front of the mirror in the shower room, as he looked at himself in the mirror.

Again, slowly, his reflection changed, and he again saw the face of the Spectre peering back out at him. Every move he made was mimicked, as he dressed and put the ring in his pocket; he was too exhausted to use it. The only time he had even been given a glimpse of what it was like for a normal person to use the ring was when Ollie had told him about his return. He had described it as a feeling of going three days without sleep; Hal could now empathize.

"Your penance is not up, Hal Jordan," he heard the Spectre say. Hal turned, leaving the area. As he walked past a bank of old, un-powered candy machines, he again saw his reflection as that of the Spectre. "Your time was not yet up, Jordan."

No, he thought, holding his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes closed. No, he's not there. I'm just seeing things. I'm so tired I'm deliri- He didn't have a chance to finish his sentence in his own mind, as the candy machine's glass suddenly cracked. Hal looked over at the fractured glass. The Spectre was still peering out from the fragments, glaring at him with empty white eyes.

I just need to get some sleep.

Hal made his way into the bays, and was mildly surprised to see planes still in the hangars. He pulled the cushions from a few of them, placing them down back to back to serve as a bed. Lying down, hoping that he would not dream, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Olivia had finally made her way back to Wayne Manor, bloodied and bruised but otherwise all in one piece. She was greeted by Minshi at the door, then by Kamal, who had a secretive smile on his face.

"Shut the fuck up," she growled at him.

"Have fun this evening?"

"Shut the fuck up," she repeated. She went upstairs and changed quickly, back into her jeans and T-shirt, and then went downstairs again. "Can I use your stuff downstairs?" she asked, flipping out her bow. "I have some work I want to do."

"Be my guess."

She went downstairs, plopping down on the bench again. She reached over and grabbed a few tools, and flipped open the access panel of the bow, revealing the circuitry inside. Within a few minutes, she had managed to place a very small chip within, wiring it to the controls, and managed to close everything back up. By then, Kamal had come down, and was sitting nearby.

"What were you doing?" he asked.

"Putting a randomizing capacitor in," she said. "It'll allow me a little more versatility that I've been lacking."

Just as he was about to say something, the nearby phone rang. His face grew drawn, as he reached over and answered the phone. There was silence for a moment, as he listened in. "Grandfather."

Olivia bit down on her lower lip, forgetting that it was cut before the pain made her snap her jaw open. He put the phone on speaker, so that she could hear the conversation.

"…the fifth piece of the Pentana. I know your little friend has it. Return it to me, and I will make certain that you have a place in my new future."

"I won't condone the changing of time," Kamal said,

"Think about it for a moment, Kamal," Ra's said, his voice low. "This world is imperfect. The infidels have destroyed it, the environment, the cities. Crime is rampant; pollution has made the very water unhealthy to drink. Murder, rape, theft. All of these are byproducts of the people that live here. If we were to go back in time, we would be able to prevent this world. We could create a perfect utopia."

"With you as lord," Kamal pointed out dryly.

"If it so fits." Olivia had to admit, it sounded good. She just knew that, after he thought nothing of taking her hostage, dislocating her arm and threatening to cut her throat, he was just trying to get to Kamal. The man wasn't having it.

"I will not help you destroy time," Kamal said.

"Kamal, listen to-" His voice was cut off, as Kamal hung up the phone.

"Thanks," Olivia said. "He was starting to piss me off. Besides, it's about time I got to the airport."

"Yes," Kamal said. "Your meeting with Todd."

"Like I said, I have my reasons." She turned away, as she felt Kamal's stare at the back of her head. "I already told you, I'm going to be the distraction. You may say pop's safe, but you'll forgive me if I decide to make certain of that personally."

He sighed. "Very well. Minshi will drive you to the airport."

Olivia nodded, making certain her bow was in working order before collapsing it back down into the Zippo. She went up, and into the garage. Minshi already had a car started, and she got in. The drive to the airport was a very short one, and the private plane that Kamal had promised was sitting idling on the tarmac. She got inside, as the pilot introduced himself to her."

"Captain Thomas Blakemore, at your service," he said. "Master Wayne tells me you're going to Detroit?"

"Yeah," Olivia said, sitting down in the back. Already, her fingers were digging into the armrests. "I have an important meeting, so I'd like to get there in one piece, please."

"No worries," Blakemore said, as he locked up the hatch and started to taxi out onto the runway. "I flew in both Gulf conflicts. This bay will get to Detroit without a hitch."

Olivia was glad when, an hour and a half later, he was correct. She thanked him (and apologized for the small tears that were in the upholstery) and left the plane. She walked on foot to the museum, a large, boxy building with square columns and a terrible abstract sculpture of a man and a dog out front. She went inside, got into line, and finally came up to the box office.

"Ten dollars," the woman behind the glass said.

Olivia reached into her wallet, and looked inside. No cash. Her two credit cards were useless. "Uh, I'm supposed to be meeting someone," she said, trying to think quickly. She could try and jump the turn style, but it would be only a few moments before security was on her. She didn't have anything worth ten dollars to pawn.

"Oh, Miss Queen?"

Olivia paused, looking up, feeling her heartbeat quicken. "Yes?" she answered cautiously.

"Your ticket has already been paid for." The cashier gave her a ticket. She thanked her, and went forward, trying to hide her displeasure. Todd had planned everything out, all right. Now, she knew that she had entered the building.

Olivia walked through, browsing at the paintings that were hung on the wall. The entire building was drab, and the paintings were tired. She paused in front of one, a Dali. The absurdity of it astonished her, and she couldn't help but stare at the fluid lifelike bodies against the blocky background.

"It's one of his least well known works of art."

Olivia jumped, spinning. Agent Todd was standing behind her, still in the skirted suit and trench coat, hands deep in her pockets. "Thanks for the free ticket," she said.

"I know your situation is precarious right now," she said. "I was hoping that we could meet face to face, Olivia."

"Yeah, well, here I am," she said with a smirk. "Not much to look at, huh?"

"Looks can be deceiving. That is part of what makes you so dangerous. Your vigilantism is dangerous and chaotic."

"No, you have the wrong idea," Olivia said, making certain to move her hands animatedly as she spoke. "I prevent danger and chaos. Unlike you Homeland Security watchdogs."

"Homeland Security has no jurisdiction over the MCC."

"Oh, then who do you answer to?"

"I don't think that information is needed. Not yet."

Olivia shook her head. "Then why are you here? You had a reason to want to meet me face to face. Well?"

Todd looked over her shoulder, as a patron walked slowly past. She waited until he was out of earshot to continue softly. "Because we're not what you think we are. We are protecting the populace by putting away dangerous Meta-humans."

"Last I checked, your definition of 'dangerous' was anyone who demonstrated powers, whether they used them for ill or not. Besides, what are you talking to me for? I'm not a Meta-human."

"Your skills are far beyond any ever experienced on this earth," Todd said. "It is something that no mere mortal could ever hope to accomplish."

Olivia waved away the compliment with her hand. "Please," she said. "I just happen to practice. It's not like I have a gene. I got a fifty-fifty shot of getting it, and I got gypped."

"We don't see it that way. In fact, that is why we wanted to come to you in the first place. After careful consideration, we have decided that we would like you to assist us in stopping the Meta-human threat."

Olivia found herself at a loss of words again. "You….you what?"

"We want your help. We're offering you a chance to do some good, legally."

She looked around the room, suddenly filled with a mild sense of paranoia. Was it a trap? "That's a bit heavy," she said. She reached under her flannel shirt and pulled out the half-empty pack of cigarettes form her breast pocket. Todd made no movement. "Mind if we go out for a smoke?"

"Not at all."

A minute later, they were standing off to the side of the museum steps. Olivia was trying to hide her surprise and confusion behind the cigarette that Todd had lit with her own lighter. Damn, didn't even give me a chance. She must know. Fuck her.

"Okay, let me get this straight," Olivia said. "You want me to help you."

"Yes."

"And why should I? Because you've got some sort of blackmail on me? Because you know where my family is?"

Todd shook her head. "We don't want to threaten your family," she said.

"Then why did you toss the house?"

"To get your attention," she replied. "If we so wished it, you would not have known that we were there. We have been watching you for a very long time, Olivia. You and your family. And your recent actions have been causing turbulence. You were creating noise. Making them act up."

"I don't make my parents do anything," Olivia growled, pointing at her with the cigarette.

"No, of course not. You see, your noise has coincided with a bill that is currently being pushed by Senator Jordan. It's requesting certain freedoms be given the Meta-humans. But it won't pass."

"How can you be so sure?"

"It won't pass," Todd said again, her voice concrete. "There's too much fear. Tell me. If your Uncle Hal wanted to, how long do you think it would take him to level Washington, DC?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Olivia said, looking away as she took another drag. She was starting to feel more than just a little uncomfortable. She was starting to feel that coming was actually a bad idea. She was also hoping that, wherever Batman was, he wouldn't show up and ruin the whole damn thing. She wasn't ready to break off the talks, not yet.

"Please, Olivia. We know about your uncle being Green Lantern. Or Polaris, whichever he wishes." Olivia just stared at her. "We also know about your friend Kamal Wayne and his dark mission in Gotham. And your impish friend as well. Now, how long do you think it would take your uncle to level the city?"

"Uncle Hal wouldn't do that," Olivia protested.

"Just answer the question."

She looked away. "A half hour," she admitted. She felt suddenly….dirty.

"You underestimate his power," Todd said. "We have done the calculations. It would take him exactly four minutes to level the city. And if he wanted to attack New York? Three minutes, fifty four seconds. My point is that if push came to shove, would you be able to stop him?"

"I wouldn't ha-"

"Would you be able to stop him, Olivia?"

She turned away again, throwing the butt of her cigarette down angrily. "No."

"The MCC has come up with a weapon. It won't hurt the Meta-humans, but it will drain them of their power. It will pacify them in one shot."

Olivia looked up, and started to laugh. "You made your own neutralizer arrow," she said.

"Yes, that little bit of technology you invented was quite ingenious," Todd said with a smile. "We merely perfected it.

"How long have you been spying on me?" Olivia asked, remembering her anger.

"For about ten years now. We had to make certain that your parents didn't start to cultivate you into a miniature version of them. It was also for your own good. We didn't know if you would manifest your mother's powers, and we had plans for you. We would have taken you out of that household, had your father gotten any worse."

"You leave me father out of this!" Olivia snapped. How dare she make such a comment? "You don't know what he did for me!"

"Yes, we do. We watched as you grew mired in the past."

"I'm not," she said.

"Oh? Then Green Arrow was all your original idea?" There was a slight mocking tone to her voice.

"I made the bow," she said. "You'll never see me pull an arrow."

"Still, your abilities far supercede any other. The people will feel safer at night, knowing that someone with such skill is wielding the one weapon that can bring any Meta-human to his knees."

"Now, let's say hypothetically, that I was to decline your very generous offer," Olivia said. "What am I looking at as the consequences?"

"If you were to lead a life as a regular American citizen, nothing. We would leave you alone. However, if you continue on the same track as you have been on, then we will treat you no different as we treated the others."

Olivia thought on it for a moment. She was silent, and Todd took that moment to say something. "It is your chance to help get your Meta-human friends their rights back."

She felt the knife twist in her gut, as she looked up. Todd stood there, her face suddenly unreadable, waiting for a reply. Olivia figured she already knew what the reply was going to be. She had maneuvered into a position where her only real option was to accept.

"Fine," she said. "I'll do it. I'll be your sharpshooter. But in return, you have to tell me why you planted an android in as the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada."

For the first time in the conversation, it looked as though Todd had met a question she was not prepared for. "What are you talking about?"

"The attack on Bally's in Las Vegas. I found an android that was supposed to be Brent Stewart, Lt Governor of the state. I want to know why it was there."

"I don't know. But it deserves further investigation. This way." She stepped towards the curb, as a black limo pulled up. Olivia followed her, sitting down inside it. "To the airport," she told the driver, who pulled away smoothly. "Now, we've also lost your friend."

"Who?"

"You didn't know he was there?"

Damn it, Kamal! "Yeah, I knew he was there. At least, I knew he would be there. I just didn't know who he was."

"Ah. Well."

"As for this android…"

"We'll look into it. Actually, there is one thing we'd like your input on, as well." She reached over and touched a button. A small TV screen swiveled out of the wooden bar, and flickered on. "We filmed this at a Home Depot in Pittsburgh. We had placed a Meta-human in the city and let her run loose, in the hopes of drawing out your Uncle. There he is."

Olivia watched in horror as the woman, who was shifting constantly, attacked Polaris. The fight ended when two agents holding very odd-looking weapons entered, firing blue energy that the pair. "You let her loose in the city? And you complain about me causing chaos."

"We needed to test our new weapon. It worked wonderfully. Unfortunately, we seem to have lost track of your Uncle. Do you have any idea where he might have gone off to?"

Olivia thought for a moment. She didn't want to divulge any information, not to Todd, but if her uncle was hurt, or worse, then she'd want to find him. "The only places I can think of are his home, pop's place, the shop, or the Manor."

"He's not in any of those," Todd confirmed.

Olivia shrugged. "I don't know. He could have gone anywhere."

"This android you were talking about. Where is it?"

"In the Manor." Olivia cringed. Oh well. Kamal's got enough security.

Todd picked up a small phone headset from the armrest. "Yes. I need you to head to sector fifteen and take out the trash. No. Just photos will be fine. Make certain it is undisturbed." Olivia could only stare at her. "We'll know about it soon enough, and then we can start the investigation."

"It might be some sort of-"

"It's no use to make guesses at this point," she said. "If you'd like, I can assign you to the case after you've started."

"Sure," Olivia said. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Valley Forge," she said. "To our training grounds."

"Before we do that, you should probably know that I'm working on something big here," Olivia said. "Something earth-shattering."

"Oh?" Todd asked, with mild surprise.

"Yes. Ra's Al Ghul is trying to get a hold of the-"

"Pentana of Time." Olivia paused. How the hell did she know that? "Your little impish friend brought it right to us. I assure you, it is someplace very safe."

"Get out of my head," Olivia growled.

Todd favored her with a tight smile. "I may also be a Meta-human, but that is not my power, I assure you."

The rest of the journey was made in silence, as Olivia felt a small knot in the pit of her stomach. Her mind swirled with doubt, especially on the plane ride from Detroit to Philadelphia. There, another limo took them about an hour out of the city, into a small building that was part of a historical town. The driver got out, grabbed a switch on the wall, and lowered the car down below the floor. A few minutes later, Olivia found herself stepping out of the limo into an underground garage complex, with three dozen other vehicles, from limos to armored troop carriers, sitting underground. She followed Todd through the halls, as men in quasi-military uniforms passed. The entire place looked like an underground version of Area 51.

She stopped in front of a man, who was standing at a doorway. "Olivia, this is Agent Krest. He will take you to processing, and I suppose you're hungry as well?"

"Damn straight," she said, and was glad to see Todd shift a little in discomfort.

"He will also take you to the cafeteria. You will have a briefing at 1700."

"Are there phones I could use?" she asked.

"Yes, but they are monitored."

"I figured as much," she answered wryly. "And it doesn't matter."

"If you say anything that might compromise this base or our mission, the call will be terminated," Todd threatened,

"Relax," Olivia said, as she started down the hall. "I'm just going to check on my father. I worry, you know." Krest managed to catch up to her in a few strides, and took her through the processing, down to get a quick bite to eat, then to the small phone room. She sat down, Krest staying at the door. Thinking for a moment, she dialed Kamal's number.

"Wayne Manor," Minshi answered.

"Hey, Minshi, it's Olivia," she said. "Is Kamal available?"

"Hold, please." She waited nearly two minutes, before she finally heard his voice on the other end. His accent was almost nonexistent. Oh shit, he is severely pissed at me.

"Olivia."

"Hey, Kamal. Listen, I need to get in touch with pop, do you have the phone number to the hospital he's in?"

"Sure, hold on a moment while I get it. I need to look up the country code, as well. It's not often that I call Switzerland." She waited a moment, before he began to rattle off a long string of numbers.

"Thanks, Kamal. If you hear from him, or from Uncle Hal, tell 'em I love 'em." She hung up quickly, her face turning bright red. She looked at the numbers in front of her, picked up the phone and dialed with a shaky hand. The voice that came back was speaking in German.

Shit, shit, shit, what was that phrase? "Uh, hi! Spreche sie ingles?" She winced. She had always hated language classes.

"Yes," a thickly-accented voice came back over the phone.

"Yes, I'd like to speak to one of your patients, Oliver Queen."

"Hold please." There was a short pause, and the nurse came back. "I am sorry; no calls are permitted to the intensive care unit."

Intensive care unit? Why the hell is he still in the intensive care unit! "Well, can I speak to his doctor, then?"

"Hold, please." After another couple minutes, a man's thickly-accented voice came over the phone.

"Yes, hello!" Olivia said quickly. "I was calling about Oliver Queen. I'm his daughter. I wanted to see how he was."

"Well, his wounds were very extensive," he said. "After a couple emergency surgeries, I believe he is ready to recover. Unfortunately, he is unconscious right now."

"How long will until he wakes up?" Olivia asked, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice.

"I would say another 48 hours, at least."

"Is his wife there? My mother, Dinah Queen."

"I'm sorry, I can't say I am familiar with that name."

She felt her heart sink even lower. "Oh. Thank you." She hung up the phone quickly, staring at it. She wanted to be angry, to cover up the hollowness she suddenly felt, but there was no anger. Only…only a deep, deep sadness that wouldn't even manifest as tears.

"We have to go," she heard Krest say behind her. She nodded, getting up and following him listlessly to the briefing room. He led her inside, where Todd was sitting at a table with a dozen other people. On the view screen behind them, obviously on a long-distance conference call, were two men. One was a bit older and balding, somewhat overweight. The other was young, perhaps Olivia's own age, with somewhat unruly blonde hair and a sharp, featured face. As the other man's image winked out, she watched as this younger man listened to Todd intently. Damn…..

"Very well, Agent West. We look forward to your next report." His image also winked out as well, and the dozen gentlemen seated at the table all stood up and began to file out, past Olivia.

"Sorry, was I early?" she asked.

"No, actually, you were right on time. Have a seat."

Olivia sat down, as Todd dismissed Krest and placed a large binder in front of her. Olivia looked at it, then picked it up. "These are some rules that you will need to follow while you're here at the installation," Todd said. "You'll have the rest of the day to rest up. Your training will begin tomorrow morning. As of this moment, you are only permitted in public areas, except for your quarters. You are not permitted to leave the installation unless someone accompanies you. Other than that, any time not taken up by training is your own. Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah, a few," she said. She started to count off on her fingers. "One, Can I smoke? Two, what are the cafeteria's hours? Three, any rules on phone time?"

"Smoking is permitted in your quarters," she answered. "The cafeteria is open to you whenever you like. And all phone calls will be monitored. Other than that, you are free to use them."

Olivia forced a smile onto her face, though she felt like she was getting dangerously close to a flame. "Then where's my room?"

Kamal looked up as the line went dead. The signal had been routed and rerouted through a number of substations, all in an attempt to mask the signal's origin. Unfortunately, their security systems failed, and he found the signal to be coming from Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Kamal's initial gut instinct of something going on with Olivia had been right; she had turned on them and gone over to the MCC. And she had bought their bullshit completely and utterly.

Not even for a moment did he think that her choice had been decided by the actions he and the others had taken. Never did the way they treated her in the past factor in. She was merely a traitor; nothing more.

He had managed to track Todd's plane to the Philadelphia International Airport, which only gave his trace an alibi. Putting the information into the computer for future use, he began to research the news feed that he had been cycling through for the past hour. Hal had gone missing; he knew form the reports in the senate that his assistant had been fielding all of his calls, and that his cell phone was not answering. He had traced the cell's signal to somewhere in Missouri, but he had more or less ruled out that he was there; the cell was no longer working. He was trying to cover his tracks.

Kamal rubbed his eyes and sat back. Hal missing after the little jaunt to Pittsburgh, and Olivia having turned coat and thrown in her lot with the MCC. To top it all off, Allo was still nowhere to be found with the last piece of the Pentana. He knew that Ra's had not gotten a hold of him; he would not have called if he had. Which meant he was off somewhere, alone, with a very dangerous artifact.

There were many mysteries for the Batman.