Nanda Parbat

"You all know why you are here," Nyssa announced, addressing the assembled warriors in her tent, "My father has named my sister Talia al Ghul as his heir when it should by rights be me. You brave few are the only ones who have taken my righteous cause. We face tremendous odds against us, yet I have found an equalizer. Most of you here were trained by the great swordsmaster the League has ever known, Qat Asud. Two years ago, he made the claim we all know to be fact, that he was the greatest swordsman on Earth. For that my father sent men to execute him. What you do not know is that when I was sent in to make sure the job was finished, I instead found a severely wounded Qat Asud and nursed him back to health, bringing him to his former home in Starling, and keeping his identity a secret."

She then gestured, and the Panther stepped forward, throwing his hood back, revealing his scars.

For several moments there was no movement, no sound, just stunned silence. Then one of the assassins in the front row stepped forward, removing his hood to reveal a face in his 50s at least. He fell to his knees in front of Karl.

"Mudarris," he whispered hoarsely, "forgive me, I never should have doubted you."

"There is nothing to forgive," Karl admonished gently.

As if on cue, the rest of the front rows moved forward to greet their instructor, returned from the dead.

"Teacher?" Leonard asked to Sara in the back, "Some of these guys are like 10 years older than him."

"He became a sword instructor at age 16," Sara replied, "He was that good. He taught people who had been studying the art their entire life more in a week than they had learned in all their studies previously. He's a legend."

Leonard found Karl later on a rock outcropping overlooking the ravine. He was sharpening his blade, sitting shirtless. The burns that started at his left ear continued along the entire left side of body, stopping at about his elbow. The rest of his torso was covered in claw marks. In total Leonard guessed approximately 60% of Karl's upper body was covered in some sort of scarring.

"Panther really did a number on you huh?" Leonard remarked, "Why'd you name yourself after something that nearly killed you?"

"Because it also saved my life," Karl replied, "After it attacked me, I was able to kill it. It's meat kept me alive until Nyssa found me."

"Sounds delightful," Leonard drawled.

The Panther smirked, "You got a specific reason to be here Snart, or did you just come to admire my body."

"I came to get answers," Leonard informed him, "You're an enigma, Karl Lawton, and I don't trust enigmas."

"Ask away," Karl responded, "I can't always guarantee a response, however."

"Your brother said you would die rather than have a breach of contract. Why?" Leonard asked, "If I see a situation headed south, I get the hell out of dodge. Why don't you?"

Karl was silent for a moment, except for the rasp rasp of his whetstone. When he did speak, it was with a low, serious tone that had not been heard by any of the Legends crew.

"When I was with the League, I had purpose. I was revered, and respected. I had honour, and the mattered to me, in a way that other things normally didn't. When the accident happened, and I had to earn a living through mercenary work, I struggled to find a purpose. Honouring a contract, to the point of insanity, allowed me to keep my honour, and in doing so keep my purpose." He looked at Leonard, "May I ask you a question, robber of ATMs?"

Leonard smirked, "Ask away. I can't guarantee a response, however."

"Do you love her?" Karl didn't need to specify who her was.

"More than anything on this Earth," Leonard replied, abandoning his facade and swagger for something far more real, and emotional.

"Good," Karl nodded, "the life of an assassin needs love."

"I suppose this is where you tell me the tear-inducing story of how you once loved a woman but it ended poorly," Leonard snarked, the drawl back in full force.

Karl huffed a laugh, "No. I have never found anyone to love. I have my own love, and it sustains me well enough." He then sheathed his katana, and motioned forward, "Come along, thief, the battle will begin shortly."

Starling Welcome Hotel

"Well, you didn't have to remind me about it!" Ray laughed

"Yeah, well, I always liked it cause you blushed like a cherry during it," Mick smiled, "I love it when you blush, like right now," he growled, moving towards his lover.

"Why don't we move this to the bedroom," Ray suggested between kisses.

"Mmm, excellent idea," Mick murmured, "Lead the way, Pretty Boy."

Ray smiled, moving to the bedroom, throwing the door open-

He stopped suddenly, staring at their room. It was covered with pictures of Ray and Mick doing their various tasks throughout the day. Each photo was tinted green, as if taken from the glowing green eyes of the Panther.

"Jesus Christ," Mick muttered, "How did he even get in here?"

"I-I don't know," Ray stammered, "I upgraded all the security. Thi-This shouldn't be happening!"

"Hey, hey calm down," Mick said, "He probably just doctored these photos, I doubt he actually followed us anywhere."

"I don't know," Ray mumbled, "He seems like the kind of guy that would do it, actually."

"Just relax, pumpkin, and go to bed," Mick reassured him, "I'll take these things down, and we'll deal with how he got in here tomorrow."

"Ok," Ray replied unsteadily, before going to sleep thinking of glowing green eyes watching his every move.