.Clara's POV

The air around me was warm, and had the faint smell of ash. I opened my eyes saw that it was dark as well. I was laying in a couple inches of murky water, but I wasn't wet. I had never been in the shadow realm for too long before. Now I knew what it was like. I kinda wanted to stay here. There was no pain, no suffering. Just... silence.

But what about Dick? Even though I wasn't on Earth anymore, it didn't mean that it didn't exist. I wondered what was happening. Could I see the Earth from here? I sat up and looked around. No. Just suffocating darkness.

I had only been in here for a few minutes, or that's what it felt like, and I was already bored. But time was tricky in different realms. Days, months, even years could've passed on Earth.

I wondered if Dick was worried about me. Wait, who was Dick again? I couldn't remember. Maybe it was better that way. Maybe it was better if I didn't know about all the awful things I'd done. All the people I'd hurt.

I curled up into a ball and fell asleep. Or at least, that's what it felt like.

Night Wing's POV

Gone. I repeated the word in my mind. She was gone. There was no getting her back this time.

I swam faster away from the hospital, desperate to find somewhere I could be alone. I pushed my mask harder against my eyes and winced, remembering my broken thumb. She said she was gonna fix it for me. I wiped at my nose and ducked into a small cave to take my mask off.

All I wanted was her.

I just wanted to see her smile, to feel her knotted hair against my fingers, to hear her pretty voice. Just one more time. I never even got to kiss her...

How could I get her back? What could we do? A foolish thought blared into my mind. Zatanna. Zatanna could cast a spell to bring her back.

I shoved my mask back on, wiped my eyes and ran a hand through my hair. Zatanna could bring her back. I swam quickly back to the hospital room.

I shoved the door open and ripped the rebreather out of my mouth. "Zatanna..." I breathed. They were covering Clara's body with a white cloth. I looked away. "Zatanna, I need your help."

Zatanna's POV

I couldn't believe how perfect my plan had come together. All of the puzzle pieces finally clicked into place.

He wanted me to bring her back. I could totally do that. I mean, she wasn't completely lost. But that was beside the point. He even said, "I owe you an enormous favour."

Which could end up being breaking up with Clara to be with me instead. Not only that, but this would totally strengthen our relationship. I almost giggled to myself. This was too easy.

I rehearsed the spell in my mind a few times. She wasn't actually dead, she was just stuck in a realm for wandering souls waiting to ascend, like a halfway point between two worlds. Not even Dr. Fate could bring back the dead. All magic had limits.

I positioned myself in front of her body. Her eyes were closed, and it looked as if she was sleeping. Night Wing stood beside me, his eyes wide with hope.

"Gnirb reh kcab morf obmiL," I said loudly, casting the spell. Her body rose. Her eyes flicked open, and they shone yellow. Dick laced our fingers together and squeezed my hand.

Her body floated in the air for a couple seconds, and then sent out a blast of power that knocked us off of our feet. Her limp body fell to the ground. Night Wing hopped back to his feet and ran to her side.

Clara's POV

Suddenly, a white light appeared and shook me out of my 'sleeping'. A girl with dark hair in a suit appeared. She was holding a black stick. My memory told me that it was a wand.

Then, I wasn't in the shadow realm anymore. The light was blinding, so I closed my eyes. Memories came crashing back to me.

Dick. Dick was here. I opened my eyes and sat up, and was crushed by a massive hug. Stunned, and not knowing what else to do, I wrapped my arms around him and tears pricked at my eyes. No one had ever hugged me with such yearning and panic before. Dick stood up and took me with him, placing me on my feet.

The strength escaped my legs. "I...I don't..."

"It's okay," he said, supporting my weight. "I'm here."

I pushed away after a couple moments, not wanting to be a burden. I could barely hold myself up, but I straightened my posture and crossed my arms. I wasn't weak.

Kid Flash coughed. "Jesse's awake."

Jessie's POV

Am I in heaven? No, someone like me definitely wouldn't be there. But it really seemed like it: a miniature waterfall bubbled in the background and a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting golden rays in every direction. The walls were made of white stone, and the oak floor had so much luster, it looked like it was wet.

The only thing that didn't fit in was the dull, throbbing pain in the back of my skull. Memories crashed over me like a tidal wave, drowning me in their horror. I wished I could go back to being innocent, to knowing nothing, but that was impossible now.

Quiet voices murmured at my bedside. I looked to my left and saw a tall, muscular man with dark skin speaking to a shorter man in a yellow suit with orange hair. Among others in the room were a girl with green skin and a boy with green skin, a woman wearing green and clutching a bow, a girl wearing a suit, a tall guy in a black t-shirt bearing... was that the Superman symbol? But the guy in a black and blue super suit and a mask was standing next to the weirdest of them all. She had dark hair and slender eyes that were staring... right at me, it seemed. Or through me. I shivered.

"Who are you?" I interrupted the dark-skinned man. It's not like I was talking to anyone in particular. There was a chorus of answers, but the girl with creepy eyes simply said, "Your rescuers."

"I am sure you have a lot of questions, but we can answer them when we are on the surface. Your father is anticipating your arrival," the dark-skinned man continued.

"Yeah," said the guy with orange hair. "We should get her back to Wells." Did they know my father?

"Can we call the bioship?" The boy with green skin was so, so young. Many of these people seemed to be younger even than me.

The green girl shook her head. "It's too far away. We'll have to zeta."

"Let us take our leave," the man with dark skin said. The girl with almond eyes extended a hand to me, and the muscles in her arms and shoulders flexed as she helped me up. These people were in enough physical shape to kill me if they wanted to. With their bare hands.

There was no pain as I stood up except for the pounding headache. The girl helped me across the room to the door, and she stopped suddenly. "Wait, guys," she started.

The rest of the group turned. "Do we have a rebreather for Jesse?" she asked. The group all turned to look at each other, then slowly shook their heads.

She turned to me. "Take mine," she said quietly. She took a harmonica-looking object out of her pocket and pressed it into my palm.

"Absolutely not," Black Mask Boy interrupted, folding his arms across his chest.

"I know what I'm doing," she snapped.

He shook his head and took a step closer to her. "No. You're going to drown."

She squared her jaw and glared at him through her lashes. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

Suit Girl moved up to them and pushed them apart. "Guys, stop. We don't have time for this." She sighed and walked over to the water fountain, pulling a tan-colored conch shell off it. She mumbled some words that didn't make any sense, and the shell faded into another rebreather. She handed it to the other girl and brushed past her a bit aggressively, but maybe I was seeing things. "Let's go."

The girl wearing green opened the door, and a wall of water swirled on the other side. Not even a single drop fell into the room, and the others started diving into the water. The green boy turned into a fish, and the green girl grew a tail. I put the rebreather in my mouth and followed them out of the room.

Mind-link established, the voice of the green girl appeared in my head. I was too exhausted to question what was going on.

We swam out of the hospital and through whatever underwater city we were in, passing strange, fish-looking people. I glanced over at the girl who gave me her rebreather as we swam, and she gave me a small smile. Suddenly, the rebreather flickered, then turned back into the shell.

Zatanna... the girl said in my head, shooting Suit Girl a look.

Dammit, she said. I was hoping we would have enough time.

Black Mask Boy swam up to her and tried to share his rebreather, but she dodged him. Stop, Night Wing, she said. There won't be enough for you.

What the hell is wrong with you? he retorted. You're going to drown.

I can... I can hold my breath... Her voice in my head was starting to get foggier. Then, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she went limp.