Chapter 5
"Here's the situation," Batman announced. "We can bring Barry Allen back to life."
After he had left Constantine and Zatanna, he had immediately returned to the Batcave. No longer would anyone come and greet him the way Elsa had. Bruce didn't know what to feel. So he chose not to.
The card he had obtained from the demon was strange. It was completely blank. There was nothing on it, absolutely clean. It had gone straight to a safe, inside a vault, inside another vault built in the Batcave. Bruce had Alfred contact the League and organize a meeting, and he would not give them the reason for it. He would break the news and situation to them in person. This was something they had to decide together. The decision they took could very well decide the fate of the world.
Immediately, Superman rose from his seat. "How?"
"I went to Constantine," Batman revealed. There were murmurs among the team until Batman raised his hand to signal for them to stop.
"From him, I was pointed towards the direction of a demon, and he gave me this card," Batman added, and from his gauntlet, he pressed a button which made a photo of the card appear on the giant screen in the room.
"You didn't make any deal with the demon, did you Batman?" Wonder Woman asked.
Batman shook his head and lied. "None whatsoever. It was Constantine who made the deal."
"Then why did you say the-" Superman began to question.
"That's not important," Batman dismissed. "What is is that we have the opportunity to bring Allen back. I suggest we take a decision here and now."
"Now hold on, Bats, don't you think we should think this over? I mean this is a pretty big decision you want us to make," Green Lantern said.
"No," Batman said forwardly. "Thanos has the chance to appear any moment, and every moment we don't bring back Allen is another chance he gets at invading. It's now, or never."
Superman walked to the center of the room, where Batman had been standing, and spoke out. "Raise your hand if you agree the Flash should be brought back from the grave."
The hands of every single core member of the League went up. No one said anything, wondering if they had decided correctly. On the one hand, this could save everyone. But it might also destroy Allen. They didn't know if the card had any side effects. It was magical in origin, which meant it probably did. But the choice had been made.
"Superman, I need you to find every single manual in the Watchtower, and take them to Earth," Batman ordered, while he sat at the computer in the room.
"Why?" Superman asked, puzzled.
"We're going to revive him here," Batman announced. "That way, if he goes rogue, then he can't escape the Watchtower to harm anyone on Earth. Make sure to take the vital parts of the teleporters, including the cores."
Batman had begun working on deleting every file on the League's database that could be used to the advantage of a rogue Flash, just in case.
Several hours later, after everything had been carefully planned, the League had taken Barry Allen's body out of the morgue onboard the space station, and moved him to the medical bay, where Batman and Superman were guarding the body until the rest of the League appeared.
"Back during the meeting," Superman broke the silence, "you said the demon gave you the card."
"Yes."
"*You* made the deal with the demon, not John. Am I correct?" Superman said.
After a moment of consideration, Batman responded. "It cost me something, but it was a small price to pay for hope."
"What was it?"
"My relationship with Elsa," Batman replied. No point in hiding it from Clark Kent, an investigative reporter.
"The demon asked for you relationship?" Superman asked incredulously.
"No. He asked for me to reveal my greatest secret," Batman answered. "The one which would 'hurt' me the most."
"Does it?" Superman asked sincerely.
"Yes," Batman admitted. "But it's something that can be dealt with."
"What was your greatest secret?" Superman wondered.
"I did the same for her as I did with the Tower of Babel," Batman said, before the doors to the medical bay opened, and every founding Justice League member entered, with Zatanna as well. She quickly set up a protection spell around Batman, in case something went wrong. It would be enough for him to escape, but it wouldn't allow him to hold his ground against the Flash.
"I just want to say, I believe you are doing the right thing, Bruce," Wonder Woman stated to him. "I hope this works out in our favor."
Shortly after, everyone except for Batman and Zatanna had teleported away, back to Earth, and now the pair were ready to begin.
Batman took the card out from his utility belt, and held it. He looked at it for a moment before Zatanna brought him back to earth.
"Bruce," she said as she nudged him.
He cleared his head, and pronounced, "Barry Allen."
Nothing happened. The body didn't move, there wasn't a flicker of lightning, nothing.
"Are you sure that's the card, Bruce?" Zatanna asked.
He ignored her as he looked the card over. Slowly, words started to appear on it, which read:
To revive this lost soul,
say the name of his blood
But for it you must enroll,
she who he loved
"Those are oddly specific rules," Zatanna commented.
"Of course," Batman murmured. When he had used the Power Stone to attempt to bring Allen back, he had briefly spoken to him in a vision. Allen had told him Anna was the key, and now the card said the same thing. It was Anna who had to bring him back. He realized it might not be wise to put her on the spot with such a life altering decision, but time was running out.
"Zatanna," Batman began. "Find Anna in Arendelle, and bring her here."
"Are you serious?" she said, dumbfounded.
"Have I ever fooled around with matters like these?" he said fiercely.
"Where do I find her?" she asked again, and Batman gave her the address of the lonely woman. She was gone and back in less than thirty seconds.
"Hey, where am I?" Anna questioned, a little frightened and dizzy from the trip.
"Anna, take this card, and say the name of the man who gave his life for you," Batman instructed her, as he handed her the card.
"How dare you!" she frowned, before she took the card.
"Just do it," Batman hissed. Anna sighed, and a sad, dejected face replaced her confused one.
"Barry," she whispered, and suddenly, Barry Allen's body began to glow from under the cover that hid him. It brought Anna's attention to the bed harboring him, and once again, she was confused, until lightning bolts struck from his body all across the room. They all ducked, except for Batman, until it came to a stop.
There was silence for a moment, and then Barry Allen stood, dressed in the style of a Roman emperor with the sheet that had covered him. His skin looked flawless, and everything about him had been restored to perfection. He looked around, and noticed the trio, but said nothing. In fact, his face was devoid of emotion. Zatanna quickly moved towards him, but his instincts kicked in, and he avoided her with his speed, until she used a spell to stop him. Barry suddenly appeared again, but had now fallen onto the bed.
Anna had watched everything, and her mind was still processing what she had just witnessed. Was it really Barry? Could it be he was truly back? She didn't want to find out, but curiousity got the best of her.
"Mr Batman," she started, "is that really Barry? Is that why you had me say his name?" Anna suddenly remembered the card, but found she was no longer holding it. The card had disappeared.
"Zatanna, what just happened?" Batman asked, ignoring Anna's questions.
"He's back, alright," she said solemnly. "But he needs time to heal. The card brought back his complete body, but not his complete soul."
"Estimate on how long until he's back to his normal self?"
Zatanna shook her head as she placed her hand on Barry who was laying on the bed. "I can't say. He might never return to the person he was. The spell I just put on him will hopefully heal his mind faster."
"Hello? Excuse me? I'm in here too you know," Anna cleared her throat, trying her hardest to make sure her voice didn't waver.
"Anna, this might be hard to understand, but that man sleeping right now is Barry Allen. The card we gave you was magic, and when you said his name, it brought him back. But he's not 'complete' right now, so we're going to take you home and let you think this over. Can you understand?" Batman explained.
But Anna was fighting back tears. "If you're telling the truth, then there's no way I can leave."
"Just do it," Batman said to Zatanna, and before Anna could protest, she was back home, where she had been before being taken to the Watchtower. That day, Anna cried, but she cried only happy tears.
"What are we going to do?" Zatanna asked the Dark Knight, before experiencing what looked like a migraine to him. He helped her up, and she barely stood on wobbly legs.
"Someone is coming," she said softly.
"Thanos?" And shortly after, a portal materialized in front of them. But instead of a mad titan showing, it was someone else.
"Batman," Dr. Fate greeted. "Zatanna."
"What's wrong, Kent?" Zatanna asked worriedly. Dr. Fate only showed when there was a grave threat looming.
"That is," he responded, pointing at Barry Allen.
"I was in a meeting with the Lords of Order," he explained. "We were discussing the arrival of Thanos, when we all felt a boom. A ripple has just been created.
"You see," he continued, "He was never supposed to come back. You people, bringing back a dead man who is vital to the history of the universe, have changed everything. Everyone across the multiverse heard it, felt it."
"What can we do?" Batman asked.
"The Lords of Order used a spell which will hide our universe from outsiders, but it's only a matter of time until someone stumbles upon our corner of the multiverse," Dr. Fate said gravely, as he left the room. "We may already be doomed."
"Was it worth it Bruce?" Zatanna asked him. There was no response.
"Anna?" Elsa yelled, as her sister suddenly reappeared from thin air. She ran to her and gave her a big hug.
"Elsa," Anna whispered, barely able to talk, "he's back."
Elsa took a step back, instantly knowing who 'he' was. "Bruce."
"What did you say?" Anna questioned.
"Batman had a plan to bring Barry back. He tried to have me use my powers, but they didn't work. He tried everything. How did he do it?" Elsa asked curiously.
"I did it," Anna said, before finally letting the tears flow. "I brought him back."
"You have magic now?" Elsa asked excitedly. Anna shook her head.
"They gave me a card and told me to say his name. I think it was magical because it disappeared after he came back," Anna explained.
"Why aren't you with him then?" Elsa pushed her playfully. She felt sad her sister didn't have magic, but was hopeful her loved one had returned.
"He's not himself," she said sadly. "He looked at me and didn't run to me."
"I always knew there was something strange about that man," Elsa muttered.
"Oh no!" Anna let out a small laugh. "He'll be back to himself soon enough. He just needs time. He did just come back, after all."
Her words didn't convince Elsa, but she hoped to heaven her sister was right. If she wasn't, then there would be great consequences.
"What are we going to do now?" Superman asked. Lately, it appeared no one other than Batman could form a plan.
"There's not much we can do. The stone remains in the same state as we found it, Luthor still has the serum, and Allen appears, 'disoriented', to say the least," Batman assessed.
"There must be something else we can do," Superman protested. He was the strongest man to live on Earth, yet he had no power in this situation. It made him feel useless.
"Unless you want to babysit Allen, there's nothing we can do," Batman snapped.
"Gentlemen," Dr. Fate said, "I believe it's our duty to nurse the Flash back to health."
"Didn't you say your Lords of Order don't want Barry back?" Superman questioned.
"Yes, but I also believe Allen is the key," Dr. Fate shared. "There's no return. The fate of the multiverse depends on him now."
"Then that's what we'll do. He'll grow back to be the hero he once was," Superman declared boldly. They had a lot of work ahead of them.
"You can remove it, correct?" came the question from the Caped Crusader, as he inspected the unconscious body.
"Remove what?" Zatanna asked.
"The spell," Batman said.
"Oh yeah, but why would you want that?" she asked nervously.
"I need to see the state of his condition," Batman responded bluntly. "I can't with the magic you've surrounded him with."
"He could wake and cause more damage if I remove the spell," she argued. She knew he wouldn't, however she was anxious to be in the same room as someone who had died and been resurrected. She had seen it before in rulers in other dimensions, and there had never been a happy ending.
"Do it. I take full responsibility of any aftermath," Batman ordered.
Zatanna shook her head, and as she uttered the words backwards, a glow resonated from Barry Allen, and he stirred in his bed. He let out a sleepy yawn, until he looked around the room. He wasn't in his apartment in Central City; he was in what looked like a hospital room, and he was staring at the Batman and Zatanna.
"Bats? Zee?" he asked, very confused, and then remembered what had happened in Gotham. "I'm alive?"
He instantly got up at super speed, though not very quickly, as it was slow enough for the detective and magician to see it happen.
"Allen, stay still," Batman said, as he tried to restrain the man. Zatanna casted another spell, one which only worked if the user was looking at the person the spell was intended for, and luckily, Barry was caught off guard. He became frozen in time.
"What have you done to me?" Barry asked through gritted teeth, fighting just to speak. "Where's Anna?"
"Anna is safe. And we brought you back from the dead. Your sacrifice was in vain," Batman said to him, breaking the news. This moved Barry enough to break free of the spell with pure determination, and he very quickly faced Batman.
"How?" he asked calmly, scaring Zatanna. Batman, as always, however, stood his ground.
"Shortly after the invasion, we found the body of a multiversal traveler, who wound up dead on our doorstep. He was carrying a note which warned us of a being from his universe named Thanos, who was looking for a stone the traveler had on him as well. If Thanos manages to find this stone, then it's over. We lose."
"No," Barry stuttered, as he stumbled backwards.
"You will need time," Batman said. "But in the meantime, rest."
"Where's Anna?" Barry repeated.
"She's home. One would think she is more worried for you, than you are for yourself." Batman added.
"What?" Barry didn't understand what Batman meant.
"She hasn't been the same," Batman responded. "According to her sister, her cheerful spirit has completely been eradicated from her."
"Wait," Barry realized. "You and Elsa? It happened?"
"Once upon a time," Batman said grimly. Zatanna looked away.
"I'm sorry to hear, Bats," Barry said, expressing sympathy.
"Listen, you have to recuperate as quickly as possible-" Batman stopped mid-sentence realizing he hadn't actually found anything wrong with the speedster.
"From what?" asked Barry.
As Batman examined him, he found there was nothing wrong with him.
"Bats?" asked a concerned Barry. "Is it bad?"
"There's nothing," Batman said slowly. "You're completely healthy."
"Then can I go home?" Barry inquired.
"Barry, there's one thing you have to understand," Batman warned. "We brought you back because there's no one else that can help us in the case of a true invasion. Once you have returned home, prepare yourself, because in four hours, we're going to have a founders meeting, and you're going to be briefed on everything that's happened since you died."
Barry nodded, and then said, "You know what's strange, Bruce?" Batman blinked, and Barry went on.
"I can't remember what happened while I was dead. One moment I was laying on the ground in Metropolis, dying, and the next I'm here."
"We'll help you later with anything you need. But our priority is the Earth," Batman told him, as he handed him a teleporter.
"Thanks Bats," Barry said, as he used it, and disappeared from Batman and Zatanna's sight.
"Why did you let him go? Shouldn't you be testing him, and studying him?" Zatanna asked, dubiously, familiar with his practices.
"He needs to feel he has a sense of freedom. Otherwise, he would never cooperate with us," Batman answered. The Dark Knight always had a plan.
The first place Barry Allen went to was not Arendelle, but rather his apartment in Central City. It wasn't vacant yet, but it reeked of putrid smells. His photos of Anna and him were still framed, which brought a very happy feeling to him.
His best guess was Batman had pulled strings to keep the apartment free of anyone meddling in it. Come to think of it, Batman probably had begun working on bringing him back since the moment he died...
Not to mention the elephant in the room. The being named Thanos. Barry didn't see any way Thanos could defeat the Justice League, even without him, but the way Batman talked so seriously about him scared Barry. There were rarely times the Caped Crusader expressed any dread, and this was one of them. Batman had said they needed Barry, but why? Most of the time, the magic users were good enough for the job. So why him? All he had was super speed, and even then, Superman was very fast. Not even close to Barry's personal best, but still much faster than the speed of sound. There wasn't a reason he could see for being back.
And Anna. The woman he loved the most was his biggest problem, as of yet. He didn't want to- no, he couldn't face her. The moment he knew he would go down fighting, he had wanted her to see him in the best light possible. Barry wanted her to see a hero who gave everything to protect her. And now he felt his sacrifice had been reduced to nothing. Meaningless. To him, facing her would be an embarrassment.
In the end, he decided he would confront her, but not today. He needed time to get his life back in order.
His next stop was the CCPD, to see if he had been declared dead. Barry went on foot, deciding he would save using his powers for Anna. He swung by the captain's office, receiving many glares from workers he knew. As he knocked, he closed his eyes to prepare himself.
"Come in," came the voice from inside. "Tony, if that's you asking about the Agnoli papers again I swear-" He stopped as soon as he looked up and saw the face of the best forensic scientist the department had ever had, and one he considered his son.
"Hi, Darryl," Barry saluted.
"I'll be darned," the PD's captain said, as his eyes widened. He quickly embraced Allen, still not believing who he was hugging.
"I'm alive," Barry said sheepishly.
"Where did you go? You've been missing since the invasion, and we thought you were dead," Darryl said in disbelief.
"I was visiting Metropolis with my girlfriend when the invasion struck," he lied. It was close enough to the truth.
"Why didn't you come back?" Darryl questioned.
"I was picked up by the Justice League and put in one of their hospitals," Barry said quickly. "I'm fine now, don't worry."
"You're welcome to have your old job back, if you want, son," Darryl informed him, still a bit shook. "We could always use you in a place like this."
Barry grinned. "Wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."
The time flew by as Barry cleaned up his apartment, and it was time for the founders meeting. As Barry used the teleporter, he found himself back in the Watchtower, in his civilian clothes. He took a good look at his trusted Flash ring, and used it to equip his suit. Only this time, there was no need for him to put the suit on, because it automatically placed itself on his body. His clothes were still on him, somehow, but the suit was protecting him. It was as if the Speed Force had given him an update.
As he walked through the hall, he only hoped everyone else would be happier to see him than Batman. The doors to the meeting room opened, and he was face to face with the team he had helped create.
"Hey guys," he greeted, as smiles formed on everyone's faces. Even Batman let out a small grin.
"Barry!" they all welcomed. It truly was a miracle seeing their comrade who had fallen in battle return.
Green Lantern was the first to shake his hand. He used his constructs to form a floating sign behind Barry that read, "Hero".
"Everyone cried at your funeral, Barry," Hal said. "Well, except for me. And Batman, but that's a given."
"I'm sure you didn't," Barry laughed.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Barry," Superman said warmly.
"Thanks, Superman," Barry returned.
"It's time to discuss the matter at hand," Batman suddenly said, and everyone quickly took their seats, including Barry.
"Right," Superman said, as he cleared his throat. "We'll start with what happened moments after you died."
"I had personally sent out my cousin, Kara, and Booster Gold to find Luthor amid the invasion, to keep tabs on him. They couldn't find him, but keep this event in mind."
"Next, two days after in Metropolis, Superman found the body of a dead man in the middle of the street. We have no identification of him, but what he carried changed everything," Batman continued.
"He was carrying a note and a container. The note said his universe had fallen, and the reason for that was Thanos, a conqueror who is searching for what was in the container," Wonder Woman added.
"The container held a glowing purple stone, which when Superman tried to hold it himself, he was burned," Batman said.
"The stone is part of a set of stones, and is the last one Thanos needs before completing the set. Batman and Dr. Palmer then began researching the stone, and they used the stone on Batman, as I later learned, to try and revive you." Superman glared at Batman, still disapproving of his actions.
"When I used the stone, I had a vision of a destroyed Arendelle, with nothing standing. And you, Allen, appeared to me, telling me your girlfriend was the key," Batman described.
So that's what I was doing while I was in the ground," Barry whistled.
"After your apparition, I had another vision, but this time I was on a rooftop in Metropolis. I saw Eobard Thawne entering LexCorp, and he shouted to me to find him."
"Later, Batman discovered that ever since your adventure in the past, Thawne lost his powers. He's no longer a threat," Superman assured.
"Well what did you guys do with him?" Barry asked. "Surely you didn't -"
"We did," Batman said bluntly. "He's in a cell on the Watchtower."
"Oh come on, Bruce," Barry said, angrily. "This man killed my mother, and would kill me were it not for the fact it would kill him too, and you're harboring him like he's a refugee?"
"It was necessary," Batman said without emotion. "Through him we confirmed the invasion was thanks to Lex Luthor."
"Luthor was the one who built and paid for the portals. But he was smart. He deliberately wanted us to capture Thawne so he could steal two bodies," Superman explained.
"While Batman was busy with Thawne, Luthor sent out Mercy Graves, his personal assistant, to steal the body of the multiversal man, and the body of a recovered invader," Wonder Woman said. "As we later discovered, the man had possessed super strength. Not like my own, or Superman's, though. His came from a chemical formula."
"Luthor's planning on enhancing the aliens," Barry said, as he pieced the puzzle together. "But for what?"
"This," Batman said, as he pulled up a paused video on the giant screen. It was from the expedition Superman, Lantern, and he had gone on.
"This was a couple of days ago, when we found Luthor's invisible space station. He had cloning technology on it, and we assume live specimens of the aliens. We never found anything else, however, because moments after this was taken, the station self-destructed," Superman informed.
"Then why bring me back? If I died fighting the originals, how would I stand a chance against them?" Barry asked, horrified.
"We can handle the aliens. What we can't handle is Thanos," Batman stated. "In the note from the multiversal man's body, it also described the stones having near infinite power."
"Then there's nothing I could do," Barry said, defeated.
"But that's just it," Superman said, with a gleam in his eyes. "You're the key. You can stop Thanos before he commands an attack, or uses his stones."
Barry was very doubtful, and decided to change the subject. "Any reason why you guys decided to leave out the part where you resurrect me?
"I went to Constantine," Batman said. "I made a deal with a demon."
"That's all there was to it, really," Superman said nervously.
"Alright, fine. So you guys expect me to defeat a being who conquered an entire universe, with just my speed?' Barry asked.
"You're our only hope, Barry. In a battle against Thanos, even I would lose," Superman sighed.
"We also have another favor to ask you Barry," Wonder Woman said. "Can you still traverse the multiverse?"
"What for?" Barry hesitated.
"Everyone in this room, excluding you, has agreed to travel to Thanos' world, to attempt to defeat him on his homeland," Superman explained.
"You're going to leave the Earth defenseless against any attack?" Barry asked in disbelief.
"In case Luthor's monsters attack while we are gone, Dr. Palmer is working on a formula to counteract the effects of the 'super serum' the monsters may have. A shot to them will be 'fatal', since they aren't really alive. The reserve members will be able to contain the aliens. And you are our best chance against Thanos," Batman said. It was true. None of the rest had a chance against him.
"We understand we are asking a lot of you, Barry, and you just returned," Superman told him. "But you are our only hope."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Barry said, rubbing his forehead. "I need to go prepare. I haven't gone on a run in a while."
"Any questions?" Superman asked the group. None responded. "Then this meeting is adjourned."
There was a feeling Barry Allen couldn't shake off, as if he was being held back by something. As he reappeared in his apartment in Central City, he ignored it as he went to the ground floor, and made his way to the bustling street. This time, he took a moment to appreciate the city life, something he hadn't done when he had met with Darryl. There wasn't anything he missed as he walked on the sidewalk to an empty alley, where he used his ring to appear as the Flash. He entered what he called, "Flashtime", the state where he could move at his super speed, while being able to simply observe the world in slow motion. But this time, something was wrong.
As he ran through streets, he stopped to inspect a car he saw... moving. The wheels had been moving very slowly, but he could see they were turning. Which could only mean one thing. He was getting slower.
Everything had always appeared still to him. Like time had stopped. But now, he wasn't sure if his return was interfering with his powers, because he seemed to have become slower. He immediately ran back to his apartment and grabbed the same timer he had used when he had first obtained his powers, and used it on himself. When he got back down to the street, he went to the coffee shop around the corner, and started the timer. Barry ran to the coffee shop on the other side of town, and when he did the math, he found he was ten times slower than the first time he had ran! He repeated the experiment, and found very similar results.
He couldn't believe it. He returned, and was probably the second fastest man alive, behind Superman now. There was no way he could let the Justice League venture into another universe when there was no way he could defend his own. He needed to inform them.
"Flash to Superman," Barry said through the comms. "There's a problem."
It took a moment for the Man of Steel to respond. "What's wrong?"
"I've lost my speed," Barry said, embarrassed.
"What?" Barry couldn't see it, but Superman's jaw dropped on his end. "How?"
"I don't know. Ever since I've returned, I've felt something is off. I mean, I still have my powers, but I'm much, much slower now. I don't even know if I can still travel through time or through space," he said, as he teleported to the Watchtower.
"Do you think you can still try?" Superman asked, as he saw Barry enter the Watchtower's teleportation room.
"I'll try my hardest," he said.
"The rest of the Justice League is on their way. I think it's safe to say the mission is going to be canceled," Superman stated.
"Where's the note?" Barry asked, referring to whatever note they had been talking about earlier.
"I have it," Batman boomed, as he and the rest of the team entered. He put the note in Barry's hand. "You can't go fast anymore?"
"Yeah, look, I think it's better if you guys don't go. I don't think I'm up for the task," Barry said, apologetic.
"You are." Batman showed him two different pictures of his blood cells.
"When you were unconscious for your first moments back, I took a blood sample from you. The Speed Force residue in your blood is almost nonexistent, but it has been growing exponentially since you returned. By my predictions, you'll be back to your past speeds in a couple of weeks, give or take." Batman said it with such authority, Barry completely believed him. "If I were to make a guess, this happened to you because of the speed you reached when you died."
Barry nodded, and he began vibrating his molecules to the frequency of the note. He quickly got a glimpse of the other world, and when it had passed, he informed the group. "I can bring you there."
"Then it's settled. We will return only when we have defeated Thanos. If we do not return, be ready to defend the Earth. The world is counting on you," Superman declared, as he shook Barry's hand.
Soon, he had brought everyone to the other Earth, to an open field. He didn't know where they had gone, but he did know he was alone. His only hope now was they complete the mission, and return triumphant.
