The Tomorrow Knight: Vagabonds

by CDrake

In the sequel to Origins, the Knight is in for the fight of his life against an ancient enemy never vanquished. To save the family he returned for and prevent the future he most fears, he must draw strength from wherever it is found. Where better than the Vagabonds who choose to stand beside him?

1. Vagabond Origins: Blue Lantern

The darkness of the room was not complete, but damn close. Only the faintest scraps of light streamed in from small, tinted windows running the length of the walls nearest the ceiling. The only other disruption of the otherwise-pervasive gloom were the periodic flickers of light emanating from the palm of a blond man standing off in a corner. Dressed in a gray trenchcoat that came down to his shins, he tossed a ball of candle-like flame between his hands, twirling it between his fingers as his amber eyes flickered with the firelight. That flame vanished when he heard the faintest hum of vibrations on the far side of the rectangular room.

Those vibrations intensified more and more over the course of a second, reaching a fever pitch when a faint snap echoed through the chamber as space itself warped as if in the grip of a black hole. Amber-eyes knew better, and turned toward the source of the disturbance as a battered man in golden-blue armor emerged from the rift. Amber-eyes chuckled softly, mockingly, as the armored newcomer stomped toward him with clenched fists.

"I warned you that the spawn of Diana was not to be trifled with."

The newcomer's golden eyes flashed with anger for the briefest of moments as he glared at the speaker. "I did not trifle." He took a breath and calmed a moment later, at least on the outside, when he continued his reply. "The extent of his power surprised me, that is all."

"Imagine that," amber-eyes scoffed. "Damn near six months of stalking your target, and he still managed to outflank you. You should have taken my advice and struck sooner than later, before he had time to adjust."

The other's eyes narrowed. "You know as well as I do that his allies would have rallied to him in force."

"That didn't stop you last time."

"Because I was unexpected. By the time Jason lost his powers, the Decembrists were already known to Wayne and his associates. Besides, fighting an old man and a wife burdened by guilt is quite different than fighting those two in their prime."

He snorted. "A human and his pet Amazon, you mean."

Janus arched a taunting eyebrow and set his tone to match. "As I recall, that 'pet Amazon' bested you on multiple occasions." His lips pressed into a thin line. "And only a fool would underestimate the Batman."

A snarl was the other's only response. "Yet for all that, your caution gained you no advantage in the end."

"The end? You act as if this will be our only opportunity."

"No, but it was the prime opportunity, to strike before you yourself were known to them. Now, they will be ever more on alert."

Janus glared. "Spare me the lecture."

"I do not lecture," replied the other, arms crossed. "Only point out the obvious. Your tactics failed. Now we do things my way."

"And what, pray tell, made you think that was your decision to make? This is not a democracy, Ares."

The god of war snarled and took a step toward him. "No, it isn't, and I wasn't asking permission."

The two engaged in a brief stare-down before Janus waved dismissively and stepped past him. "Very well, have your fun. While you soak the soil and sand of this world with gratuitous bloodletting, I will be fighting the battles that will win us the war. I always seemed to be better at that bit, despite your arrogantly chosen title." He stopped short and smirked, looking over his shoulder at Ares. "Perhaps that's why Zeus always favored me over you."

Eyes smoldering and flickering with red, Ares took a threatening step toward him, growling his reply. "If that were true, he would've cast me out."

Janus stepped right back, smiling venomously. "In case you've forgotten history, he did."

Ares stared him down again for a while before the red flecks faded from his eyes. "Enough. Even I know when a fight is pointless." He sneered. "But the next time you doubt my power or ability, remember that you came to me for help."

Janus' eyes narrowed as he got up in Ares' face, his slightly shorter form nevertheless causing Ares to tense up. "And the next time you think to question my tactics or authority, you should remember that I saved you from a fate worse than death. This is not me asking you for a favor. This is you repaying the debt you owe." He drew even closer, hissing in his ear as the god of war gulped uneasily. "I could just as easily return you to your endless torment in the void." His golden eyes narrowed, glowing faintly in the low light. "So, do not test me, Ares." Janus stepped back, waving toward the far end of the room. "Go, do as you wish, but remember: you are a distraction, nothing more.

"Now leave me. I have work to do."

Bristling at being so utterly dismissed, Ares nevertheless backed away with the smallest bow of the head and vanished in a swirl of blood and fire.

…

"So that's not one of his abilities?"

The gray-eyed woman frowned and shook her head. "That armor was a gift from Hephaestus, forged of a rare symbiotic metal that obeys the will of its wearer once the two are bonded." She flipped a page on the ancient-looking tome in her hands, angling it to show the boy speaking with her. "Your modern science calls it 'Element X.'"

Jason Wayne nodded slowly, tracing a finger over the spiral shape on the belt section of the armor's diagram. "That explains how he could reconfigure it so quickly on the fly. What's up with this symbol, though? He wore a different one when I fought him; an hourglass."

Athena nodded with a frown. "The armor shifts with the power and headspace of its wearer. That change would've happened after he defeated Kronos."

"I see. What about that time-warp ability? Honestly, that's the most concerning bit. He doesn't seem to be able to exert it over very much distance or large areas."

"For the full stop effect you described, perhaps, but faint alterations to his own timescale give him much of his great speed at little cost to his focus or stamina."

"Kind of like a speedster."

Athena nodded. "Precisely, except they can only ever affect their own relativity. Janus has the potential to affect that of an entire city, at least with a partial slow effect, like flies in honey." She frowned. "I once saw Kronos do just that to a convoy of humans who allied with us."

Jason's blue eyes widened. "Then why didn't he just freeze me and Cass and take us both out?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you. Janus wasn't around long once he gained Kronos' abilities, so I had very little time to observe the extent of his new power."

"And what about the 'two faces?'"

"The what?"

"In myth, Janus is always reported as having two faces: one looking into the past, one into the future."

"Ah, yes." Athena rolled her eyes in irritation. "That, young one, is something of a misnomer. A closer word would be 'aspect.' From birth, Janus had the gift of allsight, capable of gazing anywhere he knew of in the Multiverse at the present point in time. Once he absorbed Kronos' sphere of reality, that ability expanded into two main aspects: the 'future face' and the 'past face.' He could still gaze across space, but that power was no longer limited to the present moment."

Jason gaped at her. "He can look across all of time."

She nodded slowly. "Now, I'm not sure if what he sees is what will happen or merely what could happen, but his precognition will no doubt make surprising him damn near impossible."

"Then how was it I was able to outpace him once I got my powers back? Because I know for a fact that he didn't let me win that time."

Athena frowned. "I cannot say. Perhaps he is not aware of the entire timeline, but only the moment and context he chooses to focus on." She closed the tome and set it aside. "Perhaps the limits of his abilities are not as extensive as I have long believed; I have little data one way or the other."

"Lack of constant awareness would explain how he was able to beat Kronos, at least."

"True."

Jason sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I guess I should just be grateful that I haven't done anything to piss offthe Janus in this time. One is bad enough."

Athena frowned. "I'm afraid it doesn't work quite that way."

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"As god of time, Janus exists both within the timeline and outside it. Only one version of him will ever be present, yet at once his influence can be felt wherever—and whenever—he chooses to go."

Jason blinked rapidly, shaking his head. "That makes absolutely no sense."

Athena sighed and picked up the tome, holding it so the sides of the pages faced him. "The flow of time is like this book, and we are but a single point traveling through the pages." She held her fingernail at the top of the rearmost page, then slowly dragged it downward as the pages flipped past in a flurry. "With each turn, we travel further along in time, but Janus…" she lifted her finger from the edge and tossed the tome down, "Janus exists outside the book. He only ever manifests where he chooses."

"So…plus side, I'll never have to deal with past versions of him."

"And on the minus, every time you encounter him, past, present, or future; he will always be the oldest and most knowledgeable version."

Jason frowned. "So…what about changing future events that he took part in? Does that mean it's impossible?"

Athena blinked. "Not at all." She sighed hard, frowning. "How do I explain…Janus…well, from what I understand about Kronos, a god of time can transplant himself into the past or future, but only mentally so. Thus, Kronos could know our battle plans ahead of time, but would be limited by distance and reach in how he could affect the outcome. Janus' dominion over gateways nullifies this limitation, allowing him to move his mind and past or future body at will. However, if his past body were to be slain, those future events would no doubt succumb to the resulting paradox and cease to exist."

Jason's lips twitched with the slightest of smiles. "Then my mission hasn't changed." He couldn't help catching her frown. "Even you admitted that he may be too far gone."

"And yet I would still kill him only as a last resort," her gray eyes narrowed, "whereas you seem intent on making that your go-to."

He met her glare evenly. "You haven't seen what he's capable of now. Whoever that person was, the one you still hold respect for?" He snarled and stood. "He's gone."

Athena, frowning, shook her head. "If that is true, I have little doubt we are responsible." She stared into the distance. "Very well, do as you see fit. It isn't like I have much choice in the matter."

Jason winced and sighed, mentally kicking himself. "Look…I'm sorry. You've been very helpful and…overall the friendliest Olympian I've ever met. But I didn't come back to this time for my health; I came back to save my parents, and if killing that bastard is the only way…"

At that, her gray eyes flashed with silvery fire. "He is not a bastard," she growled.

He arched a raven eyebrow and crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, did Uranus marry your sister and no one tell me?"

"…"

"Then technically, yes, he is a bastard."

The fire slowly faded from her eyes, though she still glared at the boy. "Your coy attempts at salvaging your not-so-veiled insult are not as amusing as you think."

His eyebrows shot skyward. "Janus wasn't just a friend to you, was he?"

Athena turned her nose up at him. "Unlike most of my kin, I remember what it means to have family…and treasure them."

Jason's lips pursed. He doubted very much that that was all she meant but decided not to press the issue. "Fair enough." He looked off into the distance, taking in the empty void peppered with floating stone and statues. "It's a moot point for now, anyway. We still don't know enough about him or his operations to move against him. Plus there's the issue of finding him in the first place."

"Knowing Janus, he will find you when he is ready."

"Yeah," he sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"Keep close to your allies and you'll be fine." Athena made to stand, but winced and let out the slightest hiss of pain mid-movement.

Jason noticed. "Whoa, you okay?"

She smiled politely, but he could see the edge of pain in her eyes. "Yes, I'm fine."

He frowned. "You're an unsurprisingly remarkable liar, Athena, but don't insult my intelligence by lying when I already know the answer."

Athena stared at him for a moment before she let her smile fade. "It's just something I have to deal with. Nothing that should concern you."

He kept staring.

"You have what you came for," she said firmly, meeting his gaze with a glare. "Go home and rest, you will need it."

"Know that for a fact, do you?"

A frown creased her features. "I may not have Janus' allsight, but I do have the gift of farsight."

He arched questioning eyebrows.

"Probabilities," she explained. "By taking in the various facts of a situation, I can project any number of possible outcomes and their relative likelihoods. Your situation is…perilous, to say the least. Best to keep up your strength as much as possible."

"…right." He glanced at her left side, opposite the right that she seemed to be favoring. "I'll be back if I have any more questions."

Athena gave him a curt nod. "Of course. Safe travels, Jason Wayne."

"Athena, always a pleasure."

…

There was slightly less warmth in their parting than their first meeting, yet Jason attributed that to their…disagreement over Janus' fate. Still, if she expected the one compassionate Olympian he'd ever met to be able to change his mind about the man who murdered his parents in two short conversations, she would be sorely disappointed. Especially since he now knew he would never encounter a version of him that hadn't done what he'd done. What worried him more, despite how little he knew the woman, was that flash of pain she'd expressed right before he returned to his body.

Athena was hiding something, and in an effort to stop him from worrying lied about it. He would have to ask Hippolyta or his mother about it when he had the chance. The queen had barely batted an eyelash when he returned a few days after his last visit, merely waved him toward the astral chamber and given her guards strict instructions not to allow anyone interrupt him. Then sidled off to perform her queenly duties elsewhere. It almost felt…normal now, to have Amazon soldiers waiting on him. Part of that no doubt came from growing up as Gotham royalty, but it hadn't quite hit him until then that he was actual royalty.

Given the preoccupied look on his grandmother's face when she left the palace with her bodyguards, he doubted she'd be up for a conversation if he managed to track her down. Instead, he made his way toward the island's library, the massive building looming just next door to the palace at large. A few not-so-subtle stares were directed at him, but no one made any obvious moves to impede his movement across the square. The archivist, a blonde woman with streaks of black in her hair, gave him a long, inquisitive look when he stepped through the doors.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

Jason thought for a second or two. "Uh…yes. I'd like to know where I can find any records on Janus or Element X." He winced a bit. "I'm…not sure what you would call it."

She waved dismissively and rose from her seat. "It is no trouble; as archivist and historian of the Amazons, it is my duty to keep apprised of current languages and developments."

She directed another wave at her desk, which he noticed bore a device that seemed altogether out of place with the otherwise ancient building: an iPad, and a recent model at that.

"No shit," Jason whispered. "How do you even connect to the 'Net out here?"

"The same way the queen speaks to her daughter using that device in the palace," she replied.

Jason shook his head slowly as he followed her through the endless stacks of books and scrolls. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm Jason." He stuck out his hand.

The archivist arched an eyebrow at him and his hand, then tentatively shook it. "Penelope."

"A pleasure. Mind if I call you Penny?"

She shot him a confused look.

He shrugged. "It's shorter, and a lot easier to say."

Penelope sighed and shrugged. "I suppose. You are the prince, after all."

Jason snorted. "Ah, that doesn't matter to me. I'm a Prince, maybe, but not a prince."

She stared at him uncomprehendingly.

"You know…'cause of my mom's maiden name…you know what? Never mind."

Penny's eyebrows rose slightly. "Ah. I see. You have an unusual sense of humor, Prince Jason."

That immediately caused his stomach to roll about a bit. "Ugh, no."

"Hm?"

"Do not ever call me that again. It irritates me enough interacting with the sycophants at school without being addressed with that title."

Penny stopped and stared at him, offended. "That is what you are, however unusual it is for a male to be Amazon royalty—or Amazon at all. I would hardly consider it flattery to address you as such."

Jason frowned and sighed. "I know, I know, but I, uh, don't really like thinking about it—here or at home—so…could you drop it please?" When she continued staring at him, he frowned harder. "Consider it an order."

Penny bowed her head slightly. "As you wish." She waved toward an aisle between two tall bookshelves. "Please, follow me. Queen Hippolyta warned me that you might stop by for just such a query—regarding Janus, that is. She never mentioned this 'Element X.'"

"That's 'cause I just learned about its relevance today. Apparently, Janus has a whole suit of armor made of the stuff, and I need to know what I'm dealing with. I've already seen some of its capabilities, but I'm quickly learning how ignorant I am of this guy."

The archivist frowned deeply. "A full suit, you say?" Her head shook. "Not good."

"Yeah?"

"Io, our weapons-mistress, would know more about its specific capabilities, but from the little I've read, Element X is an extremely rare and powerful substance, known to us as the 'fire of the Fourth World.'"

Jason's eyes flashed in recognition. "Fourth World…I've heard that term before."

Penny nodded gravely. "This is how we refer to New Genesis and Apokolips, the domains of the New Gods."

"Oh. Athena told me E-X could transform into just about anything once bonded to a wearer, and I saw Janus use it to form various melee weapons on the fly without sacrificing any of the armor's protection."

"I'm afraid there's much more to it than that. Element X is both substance and power, the core of Fourth World tools such as the Mother and Father boxes. Additionally, it can greatly augment the power of the wearer and allow them a certain amount of precognition, if used properly."

Jason's eyebrows attempted to meet his hairline. "As if he needed to get any more powerful."

"Given Janus' abilities," she said, pulling a thick book off one of the shelves, "I believe it would serve as more of a limiter, a means of keeping his abilities in check. Influencing time and space are no small matters, as I'm sure you well know. Element X would certainly help to refine control of such abilities."

"That would make sense, given what Athena said about him being the youngest. Still, that's one more part of his arsenal that I can't hope to match, and he's had the better part of an eon to master using it."

"True." Penny pulled another two volumes off separate shelves, tucking all three under her left arm as she kept searching. "Unfortunately, there are few records of Janus himself, thanks to his rather lackluster place in Olympus' pantheon."

"I think you mean nonexistent."

She frowned. "True, Janus never gained a cult following of his own, but time is not something one typically considers as something that actively needs changing, as opposed to weather or crops."

"I suppose I should be grateful that no one worships him; the way Olympian powers work, it would only make him stronger."

Penny nodded, falling silent as she pulled one more tome off the racks, then escorted Jason to an open area in the center of the building that was dedicated to study. By the look on her face, they were both surprised to find that this area was already occupied. A familiar redhead looked up at the sound of their approach, blinking rapidly and quickly thumping the book in her hands closed. To Jason's surprise, the book didn't look that old.

"Yes?" asked Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, her tone a little hostile.

Penny frowned inquisitively. "Why so defensive, Artemis?"

The redheaded Amazon glared. "I prefer my reading time to be as uninterrupted as possible."

"Ah," Penny intoned with a coy smile. She waved to the boy observing Artemis with an amused glint in his eye. "This is Pr—er, Jason Wayne. He will be studying here from time to time."

"I know who you are," Artemis directed at Jason. "I was sparring with Kara Zor-El when you dueled Philippus, saw the whole thing."

Jason noticeably grimaced. "Not one of my proudest moments."

Artemis gave him a feral grin. "On the contrary, that curmudgeon needed to be taken down a notch." She gave him a near-mocking golf clap. "Well done."

Penny coughed into her hand after laying down the stack of books. "I'll leave you to it."

Jason glanced at his unusual company, trying to make out the title of the book in her hands. However, she seemed to be particularly insistent on preventing him—or anyone—from finding out.

Curious…

He sat down next to the book-stack, finding himself surprised once again to see sticky notes serving as bookmarks in most of the tomes. Gravitating to those pages, he found several relevant entries on Kronos and a few on Janus himself bracketed or highlighted, and mentally thanked his grandmother for her foresight. After a few minutes of silent reading, he took another glance at Artemis and managed to spy the title of her book. He nearly erupted into cackles a second later, managing to restrain it to a small snort.

Artemis directed a fierce green-eyed glare at him. "What?"

He quickly schooled his features into something resembling neutrality, though his eyes still glimmered with mirth. "Nothing, just surprised to see a title that recent sitting in a library this old."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Not a word, Jason Wayne."

"About what?" he asked teasingly. "Why on Earth would I tell anyone that you're reading sappy romance novels?" Jason finally let his grin show. "Especially when it's such effective blackmail material?"

Artemis' glare intensified. "You wouldn't dare."

"We get along, I won't have to." He returned to his reading a moment later, his disgruntled company gradually doing the same. Taking a few notes down on his phone, he sighed and stretched out a few minutes later, taking a break. "I'm surprised you're still here."

"Think I find your company that annoying, do you?"

He chuckled. "No, I mean on Themyscira. Your sisters back home have to be missing their star fighter."

Artemis frowned and flipped the book closed. "True, and I miss them as well. However, there are a number of reasons why it would be…unwise to go back now. Namely, the current political situation in Qurac and Bialya."

Jason's eyebrows rose.

"We are not blind to what is happening in the world, and that kind of upheaval so close to home makes any return trip…perilous."

"I thought Bana-Mighdall was insulated from the rest of the world, like Themyscira."

"It is, true, but an island cloaked from vision in the middle of nowhere is slightly different than a city in the desert shielded by a perpetual sandstorm. One is bound to have significantly more traffic and watching eyes than the other."

Jason nodded slowly. "And the appearance of a third powerful player in an already-unstable climate could exacerbate the situation."

"Precisely."

"…that's…surprisingly well thought-out."

She shot him a look. "Excuse me?"

He threw his hands up calmingly. "It's just that you sounded a bit more hotheaded from what I've heard."

"Oh?" Her arms crossed. "From whom?"

"Well…Red, mostly."

"Red?"

Jason blinked. "Right. The Red Hood, my adoptive brother. In my time, you two are old friends." He smirked. "Always said you were a passionate spitfire."

Artemis thought for a moment, shrugging. "An apt description, I'll admit. How do I and this 'Red' supposedly meet?"

He smiled and wagged a finger at her. "Nice try, Arty. You know better than to ask me that."

She gave him a flat look. "Don't call me that."

"Well I gotta come up with something. Artemis is way too many syllables for regular use."

"Shut up, Wayne."

He chuckled and returned to his studies. "Okay."

…

Cassandra Cain was bored.

Typically, her patience was all-encompassing and enduring to depths that amazed even her adoptive father. However, at this point, it was all she could do not to constantly gripe about being hemmed away from the Batcave or out of the gym. She was fine, really. Her injuries were healed, for the most part, and certainly the most severe ones had faded to virtually nothing thanks to Jason's Nth-metal gift. But Diana was an appallingly effective mother hen, and Bruce was even worse. A large part of her loved and treasured that side of her parents, especially given how her biological parents had treated her during childhood.

At the moment, it just irritated the crap out of her.

Even Jason wouldn't help her get back in the game, though she couldn't find it in herself to be surprised, since she still saw guilt in his eyes every time he looked at her. She'd very nearly asked Damian for help in breaking into the cave before remembering how petty he tended to be and avoided that option for fear of him holding it over her head. So instead she waited until Jason came home from his latest excursion to Themyscira and used his preoccupation with whatever he was reading to follow him into the cave from one of the alternate entrances. She stayed in the shadows, avoiding his line of sight as he laid his tablet down, tabbing through what looked like photos of a book.

A few minutes after he arrived, she was trying to override the lock on her armor chamber when he got a call that he put on speaker, assuming no one else was there.

"Jason Wayne," he answered.

"Hey, kid, how's it hanging?"

Jason frowned at the phone. "Caden?"

"Don't sound so surprised. Can't I call my old partner?"

He snorted. "Yeah, partner for one night. I hardly think that counts."

"I never forget anyone who does me a solid, Jason."

"Fair enough. What's up?"

"What do you mean 'what's up?' You sent me a message about that nasty business in Singapore and Bialya, and I just now managed to get to reading it. You mentioned needing allies, so I figured you might want to talk."

"No offense, but I'm not sure how much help you'll be against someone like Janus."

"That's not making you stop your father."

Jason huffed. "Only because I know he's too stubborn to let me handle this alone. If I had a choice, I'd keep both of them out of this." His expression darkened. "I have no intention of having a repeat incident of 2032."

"I get that, but I'm not sure I could afford to stay out if I wanted to."

"What do you mean? Are the Decembrists back in Star City?"

"No, and I want to keep it that way. Richard Dragon is panicking; without their active support, he's floundering under efforts from me and the FBI. Just need one last nail in the coffin, and he's all mine."

"You want to help me shut down his network."

"Exactly. I'm good at that sort of thing, but I'm sure you don't need a reminder; you know my resume."

Jason leaned back in his seat and thought for a bit, Cass chewing her lower lip as she finally got the lock open. "Okay. You're on. But this is going to take more than the two of us, especially if we run across Janus himself."

"I agree. Which is why I have another name to throw into the ring."

"Can we trust them?"

"Kid, you know me. If we couldn't, I wouldn't have brought 'em up. Especially not for something this sensitive."

Jason chuckled. "Fair enough. Who is it?"

"His name is Alexander Kaiser, former lieutenant in BPD SWAT and the other liaison to Dragoneye. A mishap in one of their raids got him a bullet in the kneecap and forced him into early retirement in Atlanta."

"I heard about this. Supposedly, that happened only a couple years ago. How could he have recovered enough to help us?"

Cass heard the grin in Caden's reply. "Because he also happens to be the only Blue Lantern of Sector 2814."

…

Getting to Atlanta was as easy as taking off from the Batcave, but since he didn't expect to be coming back home for a good while, Jason decided to take his armor with him in a backpack fitted for that express purpose. The helmet made it bulge a little, but the rest of the armor fit in its hollow for the most part, so no one was the wiser to its actual contents. Touching down in a thickly wooded area just outside the city, Jason walked the rest of the way to the northmost corner of Atlanta.

Which was where he happened upon a quaint little restaurant with the hilariously punny-slash-horrible name "Pho Your Enjoyment" posted above the entrance in English, Vietnamese, and…was that Hebrew?

Jason stared at the sign for a good second or two, shaking his head before going in and taking a long look at the dark wood that made up the furniture and interior. With how well everything was polished, how new all the equipment looked, and the miraculous smells coming from the kitchen; Jason was hard-pressed to believe that a cop had started this place up—or a clean cop, anyway. It must've cost a fortune just to put it all together. Still, Dick and Caden didn't associate with corrupt police…especially not ones that knew their secrets.

Glancing around for any familiar faces, Jason seated himself at the bar, unslinging his backpack and laying it on the ground next to his stool. The music playing in the background was a subdued mix of pop and alternative artists, nothing particularly special, but it fit well enough for a place like this. The arrival of a presence behind him preceded a firm pat of his shoulder as Caden sat down next to him.

Jason stared at him. "How'd you get here so fast?"

Caden blinked, a blank look on his face. "I've been here all day, man." He pulled a flask from his leather jacket and tilted it toward the door to the kitchen. "It was while I was visiting Alex that I had an epiphany about him joining us."

"Huh. Does he know we're here?"

"Yeah, but it's kinda hard to pull him away at this time of day, considering he's the head chef."

Jason's raven eyebrows shot skyward.

"He wasn't always a cop," Caden chuckled. "But he dropped out of culinary school to sign up after he witnessed the Fort Hood shooting in 2009. Five years later, he was leading SWAT raids in Blüdhaven."

Jason whistled through his teeth. "Hell of a career shift…and a lieutenant in five years."

"It helps when there are so few competent cops in Blüdhaven."

He shrugged. "I guess."

Jason turned back toward the kitchen, where the door opened to reveal a man about his height with dirty blond hair, blue eyes that he could just barely make out through the shadows over them, and a complexion that was distinctly East Asian, not dissimilar from Cass. He was wearing a long apron and carrying a pair of ceramic bowls billowing with steam. He handed them off to a nearby waiter with a sunny grin, his eyes flickering to the pair waiting at the bar for the barest of seconds before he turned to a woman at his side and whispered something that prompted her to bow her head slightly in respect.

Jason's eyebrows rose sharply, turning to Caden. "That's Alex Kaiser?"

Before he could reply, a new voice came from the other side of the counter.

"Guilty as charged," said the owner, still grinning and wiping his hands with a nearby towel. "And you are?"

He blinked at the older man before holding out his hand. "Jason. Jason uh…" he glanced around, "Prince."

Alex arched an eyebrow, glancing at Caden, who nodded. Alex nodded back and returned his attention to Jason. "Pleasure making your acquaintance," he said finally, shaking his hand. Then he noticed Jason's confused look. "Something wrong?"

Jason blinked a few times before snapping himself out of his thoughts. "Don't take this the wrong way, but…you don't look like a Kaiser. Are you…"

"Adopted?" He chuckled. "No."

To Jason's surprise, he didn't seem to take the least bit of offense at the question.

"And my hair isn't dyed either, if you were thinking it."

Jason threw his hands up in silent question.

Alex held up a finger. "Hold that thought, Mr. Prince. Just gimme a minute to change outta this." He shrugged. "About time I hand off my shift anyway."

A few minutes later, he did just that, emerging from the employees only door in a denim jacket and wonderfully tacky cowboy boots. Alex motioned the pair over to a nearby booth, silently ordering water to be served for each of them. Caden politely ignored his glass, instead sipping from the flask in his jacket.

"Don't worry about the question, kid," Alex said when they were settled. "I get asked that all the time. I am…well, I like to call myself the 'gifted mongrel.'"

Jason gave him a quizzical look.

Alex chuckled and waved to a series of black-and-white and sepia-tinted photos on the wall. "Great-grandpappy was a German-Jewish immigrant who escaped the Holocaust, and his oldest son, my grandfather, met his wife in 'Nam during the war. A few years later, my mother was born. Then, in the late 80s, my brother and I came along."

Jason blinked. "And your dad?"

An amused twinkle emerged in Alex's blue eyes. "Well, Dad is the reason I sometimes wear these."

He reached toward his eyes one by one, pulling out contacts Jason hadn't even noticed. Which was when he noticed that Alex's eyes weren't blue, but a vibrant royal purple.

Jason stared at him. "Whoa…that…can't be natural."

That amused look returned. "Natural, yes. Human…no."

The boy gaped. "So, you're…"

"Part German, part Jewish, part Vietnamese and…"

"Part alien."

Alex smiled. "Part Xun, to be precise."

"Xun? I'm not familiar."

"Not surprising. Their sector of space is so far from ours, I doubt even the Justice League rubs up against them. Especially since they wouldn't have much reason to interfere in their affairs."

"Why's that?"

Caden chimed in here. "Because the Xun Empire is a warrior culture that revolves around honoring guardians of all types. Every citizen must be willing to stand up for someone who can't. Even their nobility aren't exempt from this requirement."

"Especially them," Alex added. "Their emperor is known as the Lord Protector for just this reason. Because of this paradigm, their civilization is singular in its power and size, despite not being a culture of conquerors. On the contrary, their widely known martial ability led to massive expansion over the course of centuries by nature of unassociated worlds inviting them, if for no other reason than to share in that security. Are you familiar with the sector system?"

Jason frowned in thought. "It's the way the Guardians of the Universe use to divide the galaxy for distribution of Green Lanterns."

"Exactly. Well, this expansion continued to the point where the Xun Empire grew to span an entire sector of space. Despite the dense population of the Empire and its worlds, the guardian mindset of their culture and corresponding military might made having multiple Green Lanterns a bit redundant. Instead, the Guardians made a deal with a previous emperor to assign a single GL to patrol their space and carry out missions that would be too dangerous for even an army to attempt. Given the displays of courage and nobility common to the Xun, there was certainly no shortage of candidates."

Jason whistled and bobbed his head. "That's…pretty cool."

Alex grinned. "My older brother would agree with you."

"So your dad was a Xun."

He nodded with a small sigh. "He is, yes, and a high-ranking one at that."

Jason sensed he'd touched a bit of a raw nerve. "How high-ranking?" In his peripherals, he could see Caden hiding a grin in a swig from his flask. "Let me guess: nobility?"

Alex laughed nervously. "Royal, actually."

Jason stared at him wide-eyed. "So…you're like…a prince?"

He chuckled. "Not quite. See, their hierarchy is a bit different from most imperial systems you may be familiar with. The noble houses are not based solely on blood, especially with the assimilation of so many other species. The Xun are masters of genetic engineering, not unlike the people who modified him." He waved at Caden, who bristled a bit at the reminder. "Over time, they engineered successive generations to be the strongest, most adaptable versions of their species, to the point where their natural reproductive process evolved to choose only the most beneficial traits of each parent's contribution. Their DNA is such that even hybrid couples could bear children, though this required a certain level of genetic compatibility on the component level if nothing else."

Jason frowned in thought. "I think I get what you're saying. So, like, they could breed with other DNA-based species, but not an RNA-based organism."

"Exactly. Or one that is not carbon-based."

"But because humans fit both those requirements, your parents had no problem having you."

He smiled and nodded. "The issue is, hybrid kids need to pick one phenotype from either species for stability. From a genetic standpoint, there is such a thing as half-Xun. However, from outward-displaying characteristics, you'd never be able to tell who's pure and who isn't. So, when my mom had fraternal twins, one of us manifested Xun characteristics, and the other looked entirely human." He smiled wryly and waved at his face. "Well, except the eyes. But then, that's thanks to the 'best traits' coding in my blood." Alex grinned. "So I got Dad's eyes, grandma's features and skin, and granddad's hair."

Jason exhaled hard, carding a hand through his hair. "That's…a lot to take in." He frowned. "One thing doesn't make sense, though."

"What's that?"

"If their sector of space is so far from ours, how did your parents meet in the first place?"

Alex's good humor vanished, those violet eyes turning to Caden.

"He's good," Caden said firmly.

A sigh came from the "gifted mongrel." "I suppose it all fits with how I got…this."

His left thumb drifted to the middle finger of the same hand, where Jason noticed for the first time a large ring of purest blue, bearing a symbol like a double-edged axe. He recognized it immediately as the Blue Lantern insignia.

"Right…about that," Jason said hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"How exactly are you supposed to help us in the field? From what I understand, Blue Lanterns have blocks on their full abilities unless they're around a Green Lantern; it's a safeguard because they're so naturally powerful. And in case you hadn't noticed, we're kinda short on Green Lanterns."

Alex smiled grimly. "Like I said before, I'm a gifted mongrel, and my DNA isn't the only exceptional part about who I am." He leaned back in his seat, curling his left hand into a fist. His ring flared with a faint light a second before it began projecting on the table.

Jason blinked and flinched at the sudden light that was so obvious, staring at Alex.

"Relax," Caden said with a hand on his shoulder. "Whether it's his role as SWAT or as Blue Lantern, Alex has never bothered keeping secrets about his identity."

Jason arched an eyebrow at him. "And what about ours?"

The spy shrugged. "He talks to so many people about this stuff, nobody'll bat an eyelash."

Jason looked around the restaurant and, sure enough, hardly a single person was even glancing in their direction, despite the luminous projection coming from Alex's ring. With a sigh, he nodded to their host.

Alex's eyes turned from Jason to the projection, their royal purple flaring with light and shifting to an intense blue that matched his ring and glowed faintly. The projection steadily took on more and more detail, something about it telling Jason that he'd done this more than once. When it finally took on form, there were 3D silhouettes milling about a lavish ballroom that would look perfectly in place in some Renaissance gathering were it not for the floating furniture and utterly foreign materials.

"My father, Veklan Zor'ad, was crown prince at the time, and as such his personal life was…somewhat up for grabs for his 'betters.'"

Jason scowled. "You're talking about arranged marriage."

Alex winced, the images shifting to show a broad-shouldered silhouette clasping hands with a feminine shadow. "To someone their parents believed would be a perfect fit: his childhood friend Olian'dra. The two were always thick as thieves, yet for all that, they never loved each other that way." The projection morphed to show Vek's silhouette facing down a couple wearing crowns. "Dad disapproved of the move, and made his displeasure known to his parents and hers. They did nothing. On the contrary, they tried to push the engagement up and practically forced the matter.

"But stubbornness is something that runs in both sides of my family, so when he saw his opportunity, he took his personal fighter and bolted." The image transformed, showing a sleek alien fighter with dual prongs that arced out from an elliptical occupancy chamber. "A certain set of relatives, cousins, saw this as an affront—and an opportunity." The image zoomed out, and four more ships joined the fray. "They sent their best hunters to capture or eliminate him; Dad never bothered to ask them which it was. He just made sure he shot first." The projection showed just that, and a furious dogfight that followed in short clips that showed different environments. "The chase lasted damn near three days across four sectors before the remaining two hunters finally cornered him in Sector 2814.

"Their last fight happened near the asteroid belt between us and Mars. So when they managed to disable his main guns, he drew them in. Using the environment, he managed to destroy them, but not without sustaining critical damage to his own ship." Vek's fighter was trashed and trailing smoke, whole chunks and part of one wing missing. "He crash-landed on Earth, in a field not ten miles from where we're sitting. That's where Mom found him." The ring showed the fighter in ruins in a lush field of grass, and a feminine form pulling Vek's suited-up body from the wreckage. "She was an aspiring doctor at the time and, despite knowing nothing about Xun biology, managed to fix him up over the course of a few weeks.

"Without a working ship or the means to contact his people, Dad was stuck here on Earth, and with a heart like hers, she wasn't about to turn him out, especially since he could pass as human with a little cosmetic work. So…she let him live with her while she finished her program and uh…" Alex smirked as the image dissipated. "Well, I'm sure you can imagine how that went."

Jason smiled. "So you and your brother came out of that."

He nodded slowly, his mirth slowly fading. "It was only a couple months after we were born when a scout ship sent by Dad's parents finally tracked his fighter down. He knew he couldn't run from his responsibilities forever, and Mom understood that, if for appearances only, he would have to marry Li. But given that he had no intention of ever sleeping with her, the Empire needed an heir."

Jason frowned. "And they had oh-so-conveniently made a Xun-presenting hybrid baby."

Alex nodded again. "It took everything in Mom just to agree to let him go, and quite a bit of cajoling to make sure the scout pilot kept her mouth shut, but…in the end, he went home and married Olian'dra. He told her everything, about Mom, about the kids, and she agreed that the whole thing was a farce. So…right before the wedding, my brother Kad'assos was presented to the royal family as theirs. After all, it's slightly less scandalous that a pureblood lovechild should issue from an indiscretion between two betrothed than a half-human baby from a woman he hadn't known for more than two years.

"Luckily for them, everyone bought it, and Kad's been raised as the crown prince ever since." Alex leaned back in his seat, staring off into space.

"Does he know?" Jason asked. "About you and your mother, I mean."

He blinked slowly, his eyes returned to their normal royal purple. "He knows. He didn't always, and for a while he was pissed at Dad about that. Especially since…" he frowned, a flash of pain in his eyes, "since he only got to meet Mom the once before uh…"

Jason felt Caden tense at his side, his fists clenching on the tabletop to restrain the urge to hug Alex across the table.

"Before the cancer took her."

Jace blinked at him, sighing hard. "Oh. I see."

Alex laughed raggedly. "He blamed himself for that, the dumbass. So did Dad. Mom…hadn't told him she was diagnosed, and with his responsibilities as emperor, they rarely ever got the chance to see each other in person. Easy enough to fake being healthy over a holocall." He frowned and shook his head. "I told her not to keep it a secret, that with all that alien tech, there might be a way to save her but…she wouldn't have been able to stop there." He smiled sadly. "My mother didn't have a selfish bone in her body; if Dad or my bro had used Xun techniques to save her, she would've insisted that that medicine be turned over for reverse-engineering to help all of humanity.

"Given how much dangerous alien tech already exists on this planet—and how easily benevolent science can be corrupted by humans—she felt that it was too great a risk to take." His hands tightened to fists. "So she said nothing."

Jason stared at him. "And neither did you?"

He met the boy's eyes. "I saw her point about the bigger picture. That doesn't mean I liked it, but if I could do it over, I would still respect her wishes."

"I couldn't."

Alex smiled wanly. "Kinda figured that, Tomorrow Kid."

His eyes rolled. "It's Knight. Tomorrow Knight."

He grinned. "I know." His smile faded. "It would've been a different story if I'd had this ring back then." He stared at the symbol on its face. "I could've just healed her and been done with it, no alien tech required. And since this is a power only I can use…that would've eliminated the risks." He sighed hard. "But alas…it came only too late, after I was forced to retire from BPD. I moved back here to be closer to Mom, but when she passed…I was in a bit of a funk. Didn't quite know what to do other than keep serving drinks and food."

"So how did you get involved with the Lanterns?"

Alex smiled. "It actually started with Kad. Well him and his uh…girlfriend at the time. Ex, now." His smile turned wry. "Well, for him anyway. See, the GL of his sector was killed sometime after his official coming-of-age ceremony, and to his shock, he was chosen to be the next one. Now, you gotta understand; Green Lanterns are seen as the ultimate expression of guardians to the Xun, so they often hold a high, if unofficial, place in the royal court. So, when that ring came to my brother, the whole royal family mourned. Kad had practically grown up with the guy, and as a result vowed to hunt down his killer.

"Of course, the Guardians didn't like that much, sending an emotional rookie after a killer that had taken out one of their best, so they assembled their own investigative team. That's where he met the woman who came with him to meet me for the first time." Alex grinned. "The three of us have been friends ever since."

"So amid all that, you somehow got…chosen as the next Blue Lantern. How? They're so few in number because of their necessary mindset, plus there's all the trials and interviews and whatnot. Plus, having served with SWAT, you're not exactly a pacifist like most of them."

Alex arched an eyebrow. "All perfectly fair points, if this were a standard case." His expression darkened. "But it wasn't." He gulped hard. "About six months after Kad found out about his true origins, so did the rest of the Empire, and boy was there backlash. Those same troublesome cousins I mentioned? Yeah, they tried to oust my family from the throne, and when that didn't work, some of them decided to target me for leverage. Or…maybe just revenge. So they sent one bounty hunter or assassin after the next." He waved around vaguely. "More than a few times, they had the audacity to attack me here." He pointed at a section of the counter. "See those scorch marks? That was from a plasma pistol wielded by this weird tentacle creature.

"Same with the ceiling fan we had to replace. Oh, and I needed to buy a dozen more chairs after a tussle or two that got up close and personal."

Jason winced. "That couldn't have been good for business."

Alex laughed. "At first, I thought so too, but there was so little collateral damage—and only to the property—that people kept on coming back. Well, that and watching your ex-SWAT head chef storm outta the kitchen with an M4 rippin' away at troublemakers apparently tends to inspire a lot of confidence." He downed his entire glass of water. "That went on for about oh…three months, I want to say. Never had an issue, despite my busted knee." He slapped the leg in question. "Sent 'em all home with their tails between their legs or in body bags."

Jason frowned and leaned on his hands. "So what changed?"

His expression darkened for a moment, his left hand briefly scratching at his clavicle—and a faint scar just exposed by his shirt. "I got distracted."

Jace's eyebrows shot upward. "By what? If you survived Blüdhaven and a couple dozen alien assassins, I'd have thought you'd have a little more awareness."

Alex chuckled nervously. "Yeah, you're not wrong, but until then, none of them had ever attacked me at home, so I figured they didn't know where I lived. I thought I was safe there. And uh…well…remember what I said about that woman being Kad's ex?"

"Uh huh?"

Alex grinned ear to ear. "Let's just say you and Grayson don't have a monopoly on hot alien girlfriends."

…

A contented hum came from one end of the queen-sized bed, a disgruntled one following a moment later when morning sunlight blared in through one of the windows. That hum turned into a groan as Alex threw an arm over his eyes to keep out the sun. His groan was answered with the softest of chuckles as he felt the weight on his chest shift slightly, and a light, wet sensation on his chest caught his attention. One royal purple eye slipped open, meeting a pair of amused silver, just as alien as his own. Their owner scooted up, her very red hair gliding along his bare chest as she straddled him, smiling gently the whole time.

Alex fought the urge to fidget or sneeze when her hair tickled his nose, instead staring blankly up at her elfin face, further completed with the alien points on the tips of her ears. He grinned from ear to ear as something occurred to him, and he reached up to tuck one side of her hair behind one of those ears.

"Y'know…I've always had a bit of a thing for drow."

She blinked and stared at him uncomprehendingly, not that he'd expected anything less. "What are…drow?"

He chuckled, hands stroking her hair and hip. "They're also called dark elves, elements of human lore referring to pale or dark-skinned people with pointy ears." His grin widened. "Who happen to be very strong-willed and domineering."

She arched a red eyebrow. "I don't imagine our peoples would've had very much interaction."

Alex shrugged and pulled her close, her face inches from his. "No one would've expected the Xun to find their way to humanity, but I'm living proof otherwise. A lot more of our traditional lore and mythology is rooted in history than most people would like to believe, so who knows?"

"Also, I may be strong-willed, but I don't think I'm particularly 'domineering.'"

He stuck his tongue out and booped her nose with his. "No, but you can be quite dominant, Laira."

A smirk tugged at her lips as she turned her chin up at him. "I never heard you complaining."

Alex gently bit his lower lip. "Mhm. Nope. You didn't."

They held each other's gaze for a few moments before breaking out in laughter and rolling around under the covers, ending up cuddling side-by-side. They stared at the ceiling for a bit, idly stroking the other's arm.

"Am I the only one who's hungry?"

Laira turned her head to look at the side of his. "The only one hungry enough to get up, maybe."

Alex snorted. "And I thought I wasn't the morning person in this relationship."

"No, I'd just prefer to take it easy on my day off."

"I'm surprised you Lanterns even get any."

She chuckled softly. "If I didn't, I'd still find an excuse to see you."

"Dawww…"

Laira smacked his chest playfully, vainly trying to hide a grin. "You're right though; I am hungry." She finally let that grin show. "Make me something."

Alex arched a dirty blond eyebrow, leaning over her with a teasing smirk. "See what I said about your dominant side?"

Laira peered at him with half-lidded eyes as she sat up far enough to bring them face-to-face, her fingers tracing his jaw until she suddenly held his chin in a firm grip. "Again," she whispered huskily, "didn't hear you complaining."

Alex blushed down to his roots, the heat in her own face only slightly visible despite her pale purple skin.

She swiped her index across his chin, smiling wryly. "Well? Get to it, then." Her eyes softened and she pecked his lips.

Alex grunted softly and kissed her back as best he could. "Yes, ma'am."

He pushed off the bed and stood up a little shakily, wincing and favoring his left side. He caught just the faintest hint of a frown on her face before she quickly resumed a neutral expression. Alex turned toward the door that went to the combined dining-slash-living-room-slash-kitchen, walking through with the faintest limp. He appreciated her not making a big deal about the leg; like a great deal of handicapped people who walked into his restaurant, he never liked being treated as an invalid. Though he knew that wasn't why she was frowning. They'd spoken about the circumstances surrounding it on multiple occasions, as well as what it meant for him.

He loved being a cop.

Well, not all aspects of it. There were some parts that he outright hated. The force's overreliance (though justified) on lethal force to get the job done, especially in a town as backwards and violent as Blüdhaven, for one. So many of the people he helped put away could be decent if they weren't consistently being given the short end of the stick. Stigmas from the police and upper class, pressures from their own, and an ever-pervasive culture of kill or be killed all conspired to keep them in the never-ending cycle of crime and punishment. Not that that in any way excused their actions.

For every gangbanger and "frequent customer" he put behind bars or in a body bag, Alex knew a few that took a second chance offered and pulled themselves up out of that mire. But none of them could do it without that ever-so-elusive quality: hope. The madness at Fort Hood had given him a glimpse of the terror and hopelessness experienced all too often by those caught in the path of evil. As much as food and good company could be used to lift people's spirits, he knew he could do more. So he moved to Blüdhaven, put on the shield, and went to work. And he was damn good at it.

He was never quite one to play by the book, but also never made a point of flouting the rules. His grandfather had always tried to instill in him a mentality of "spirit, not letter," despite being a self-proclaimed "bad Jew." In that respect, perhaps, some of his fellow police might have considered him a bad cop. He preferred to look at it as an attitude of grace. Alex didn't have to show mercy; in far too many cases, the evidence and eyewitnesses were so thick it was outright damning, and for the truly irredeemable—the murderers and rapists and racketeers—he brought down the banhammer.

But there were those who fell in beside these who were just as much victims, bought or bullied into submission with seemingly no other options. It was with these people that he saw the faintest flickers of hope, too often snuffed out by peer pressure and a system too broken to fix itself, much less the people it was supposed to protect. Which, he supposed, was why he didn't tell a soul when he found Detective Grayson bleeding to death in an alley carrying two teched-out escrimas and wearing ballistic armor whose design had been plastered on every wanted poster in the city. It wasn't hard to put the rest of the pieces together after that, and just as the Batman had found an ally in James Gordon, Nightwing found his in Alexander Kaiser.

For the next six months, they worked with Dragoneye to clean up their city. They were winning the war.

And then a brainwashed successor of Nightwing from the future ambushed his SWAT team mid-operation and put a .45 round through his kneecap.

He couldn't even remember the pain, to be honest, or the ride to the hospital. Small blessings, he supposed. The next thing he remembered after breaching the door of that warehouse was waking up in Blüdhaven General with a massive wad of gauze strapped to his leg and an exhausted Dick dozing in a nearby chair. The days that followed were little more than a blur of surgeries and apologetic faces that alternatively made him want to scream or curl into a ball. One theme had been consistent throughout it all: he could no longer function as a cop, at least not in the field. And if his only option was to shine a seat all day and fill out paperwork, he'd rather quit.

So quit he did, though Dick gave him one hell of a sendoff, and a promise to put him in touch with someone who could help him figure out his next step. A day later, a taller Latino man with impossibly dark eyes and an unyielding aura of danger showed up at his apartment and offered to help him finish culinary school. None of it made any kind of sense; they didn't know each other, and he didn't exactly seem like the kind of person to indulge in charity. Then Caden Drake revealed he was a "family friend" of the Waynes, and this wasn't the first time he'd helped one of theirs cope with a new handicap acquired in the line of duty.

For the longest time, Alex couldn't decide whether to feel frightened or flattered to be considered in the vicinity of one of the Bats.

He eventually figured it was probably a bit of both. His mom and Caden had been instrumental in getting him back on his feet, literally and figuratively, and Drake even fronted him the cash he needed to build Pho Your Enjoyment. A loan it was not, he'd said, and not charity either. Despite the dripping red of his track record, Caden believed wholeheartedly in paying it forward, and Alex got the feeling that the Bats had helped him considerably at some point in his life. Which was the challenge he issued to Kaiser when the restaurant first opened: pay it forward. That was Drake's "payback."

So he did. People came to restaurants and bars to forget their troubles, but on occasion, with the right company, they also came to talk about them. Having compassion drummed into him from birth by an incredibly empathic mother made him a natural listener, and his experience in life and on the force gave him the know-how to talk many of them through it. Just like that, he was back to helping people, and not just their stomachs.

Meeting Kad and Laira had been the final notch in that belt.

He finally understood why he was so driven by this. It was in his blood, on both sides, and the older brother he'd never known was proud of him. His brother, the superhero, was proud of him. Hearing that story was the happiest he'd seen Mom before…well, he supposed it was only fitting. She only went the moment she knew her boys were going to be okay.

Coughing, Alex wiped at his eyes briefly as his other hand shuffled the sizzling frying pan across the stovetop. He turned his thoughts to the task at hand, to the beautiful, hardworking woman lazing about in his bed; and couldn't help the ridiculous grin that overtook his face. Laira Omoto, his girlfriend, the superhero.

God, how did I get so lucky?

He took the pan off the stove and casually tossed a trio of turkey bacon strips into the oil, recoiling slightly when he realized he'd heated it too much and it started popping. Alex drew back just far enough to avoid being burnt as he turned up the vent fan and waited for the smoke to clear out a bit. So distracted was he with his thoughts and breakfast prep that he failed to hear the loud thump of heavy steps coming from the front door, or the faint shearing of the deadbolt being cut with a razor-sharp blade.

He heard the explosion of wood and metal just fine when the door was gratuitously kicked in.

But then, given how much shrapnel was sent flying his way, he supposed that was the point: lessen the door's resistance to give the shards more force, make them even more deadly. He hit the deck just before a dozen of them speared the stove and opposite wall, his purple eyes narrowing to avoid the glare from the skylight outside. He managed to glimpse an imposing silhouette backlit by the sun, slowly resolving into a decidedly alien form of metal and polymer encasing a vaguely humanoid shape. It took him a second to make out the decidedly reptilian features of his attacker, the thick, muscular tail that dragged behind its legs as it stalked through the door.

Alex's heart raced with panic and adrenaline. No hunter sent by the Xer'os family had managed to track him home. Unfortunately for this poor sap, that extra work would only put it in more danger. Alex pushed himself toward the dining table and felt his left hand wrap around the grip of a .40 caliber pistol he kept taped to the underside. Half the mag was emptied into the would-be assassin before it reached the table, the other half following when Alex grit his teeth and rolled away from the charging reptile. Ignoring the pain in his leg, he reached back into the coat closet he'd landed next to, his fingers finding the barrel of his M4 and yanking it free.

A massive, scaly hand stopped the weapon's motion, red cat eyes glaring down at him mercilessly as the hunter brought its other hand to bear with a wickedly curved blade the size of Alex's arm. An ethereal whir sounded from the side as the blade stopped less than halfway to its target, Laira's furious visage complemented by the faint glow in her now-green eyes. Her Lantern uniform rapidly materialized around her body, encasing her in vibrant hunter green armor. The projection holding back the alien's weapon constricted suddenly, pulling it toward Laira, who wheeled-kicked it in the gut and followed up with a leaping left cross to the face.

Her projection vanished, re-forming into a plated gauntlet that looked like a sledgehammer had been strapped to her arm. That gauntlet slammed into the alien's arms as it brought its arms up to protect its face, a fearsome growl chilling Alex to the core even as he pushed it down and regained control of his rifle. The alien rolled away, the rapid movement shaking the whole apartment with its mass as it angled its movement back toward Alex. The M4 spewed hot lead at the creature as fast as he could pull the trigger, but not a single round seemed to do more than piss it off.

Laira shouted and snapped a ring of green around the hunter's midsection, stopping it in its tracks. The blade still clutched in its left hand slashed at the restraint, barely doing a thing. And then the creature did something neither of them expected, reaching into a hardened compartment on its belt and whipping out a faintly glowing yellow crystal. It brought the sharpest edge of the crystal down into Laira's bonds; they shattered instantly, sending both of them into a brief bout of shock.

"Aurem," she exhaled just loud enough for Alex to hear.

Laira barely had enough time to erect a shield before the crystal shattered it and she narrowly avoided having her head taken off by the creature's blade. She handsprung backward, flying back to reevaluate but gaping when the blade was swapped out for a cylindrical device that she apparently recognized, since she charged forward with a ring blast directed right at it. The elongated cylinder glowed with power at the very same time, green energy colliding with red and creating a massive explosion that vaporized most of the apartment's living room and sent Laira flying the next block over.

Alex brought his arms up to shield his face and naked upper body, getting shallow cuts to his forearms, but otherwise doing no damage. A mere glance was enough to confirm that Laira was nowhere to be found. The alien, on the other hand…

The M4 was slashed in half before he could even angle it right, and an iron grip around his throat cut off anything Alex was going to say. The massive creature held him over the six-floor drop created by the explosion, its eyes glaring with cold fury.

And then it—he—spoke. "So you are the bastard? Well, the other bastard." He sniffed at Alex's head. "Don't look like much, and your weapons are primitive at best. Still, you are the easiest and best paycheck I have earned in many cycles."

Alex gritted his bloodied teeth and gripped one jagged half of his rifle, eyes searching for the smallest of weak points.

"I imagine I'll be coming for the elder next," the hunter snarled. "I cannot wait to hear his screams as well."

"Only screams here," Alex wheezed, "will be—yours."

And with that, he brought the sharpest end of the weapon's remains straight into the creature's left eye. An ear-splitting roar nearly blew out Alex's hearing as the hunter thrashed about, his grip on Alex's throat loosening for barely a second before reasserting itself as he tore the rifle piece from his mangled eye. Glaring at the human with his one intact eye, he snarled with pure hatred and brandished that wretched blade.

"No!" Laira shrieked from just behind Alex.

He tried, he tried to bring his leg up to kick the alien's wrist back, keep it at bay just long enough for her to get there. But it was coming in on his right side, he tried with his right leg, and even if it had gotten high enough, the sheer force would've instantly caved the limb in.

And the blade would've put a massive hole through his lung anyway.

…

"Alex!" Laira screamed at the top of her lungs, blinded to everything but the impaled man dangling over a seventy-foot fall and the Gordanian monster holding him there.

The creature spotted Laira's approaching form over Alex's shoulder and grinned madly as he tore the blade loose and dropped him. Her ring instantly projected an elastic net to catch him, but she quickly found herself being hammered by more energy blasts from the Gordanian's staff cannon. Hardening her shields, she focused on Alex, feeling the faintest of impacts through the ring when his body impacted her net. Then the Gordanian fed that yellow crystal into the firing chamber of his cannon, and before she could even think of moving Alex to safety, blew her projection to shards.

Her eyes flew wide open as he freefell toward the alley, the Lantern firing off a quick blast at the hunter as she dove for him. Another return shot impacted hers, and this time her blast was completely annihilated as the Gordanian's speared toward her. The instinctive forcefield she put up shattered instantly, her vision briefly fading to black before she realized she was flying over the rooftops near Alex's apartment in an uncontrolled descent. Her right hand tightened around her ring, a touch of antigravity halting her motion and bringing her to a steady hover. Laira's eyes drifted over toward the ruined building, just staring as the seconds passed and her body went numb.

It…can't…

Laira's eyes slammed shut, the pain in her chest threatening to rip her to shreds. The hum of a charging energy weapon snapped her attention to a nearby rooftop, revealing the Gordanian aiming that accursed cannon. Snarling in rage, Laira dropped like a rock, successfully dodging his first and second shots, focusing on avoidance rather than direct action. Like this, she managed to close the distance and roared as she laid into his face with a flurry of energy-knuckled punches. The creature's helmet cracked and shattered under the force of her blows, his chestplate following not long after.

The bloodstained blade he tried to use on her failed when she summoned a shield and battered it out of his grip before slamming it into his bloodied face. The alien hunter growled and flinched with every impact, Laira's mind and will zeroing in on a single, all-consuming thought.

Kill…kill…kill!

The Sinestro Corps War had ended less than a year previous, the Book of Oa rewritten, Green Lanterns finally made capable of lethal force. She could do it. She could kill him. Given how much blood he had spilt for little more than coin and reputation, she probably should. But then she thought of Alex's radiant smile as he talked about his experiences in BPD, about the numerous people he helped, the criminals he reformed…and the darkness in his eyes when he remembered the lives he was forced to take in the line of duty.

The expanding arm-blade that would've shattered the Gordanian's internal organs shifted at the last second into a rounded row of knuckles.

And vanished entirely before it even touched the creature's chest. Her armored fist alone smacked against the Gordanian's bruised muscles, but the iron cords nevertheless held fast. Laira mentally cursed as she lunged away from her opponent, glancing to the side to see that yellow crystal shining its glow through the window to the staff's firing chamber.

Aurem, the yellow element, the only thing in the universe capable of forming yellow power rings and innately capable of draining green rings of their power. The more she was exposed, the more power her ring would lose, and the faster she would be rendered powerless. Laira glanced at the holographic display her ring automatically projected over her eyes, finding only 0.8% power. Another curse, this one audible, streamed from her lips. Her ring had barely enough power to maintain her armor and flight, and though injured, the Gordanian still had a full complement of weapons.

A faint metallic glint in her peripherals caught her attention.

Perhaps not a full complement…

Laira dove for the blade, snatching it up as she flew past. She whirled toward the hunter, who was sprinting at her on all fours, tail swirling in his wake and driving him forward. Laira crouched and coiled herself up, waiting for just the right moment. When he sprung for her staff first, she leapt over his head and slashed at his back, scoring a deep gash in the armor. Her resulting flip was landed without any flourish or finesse, just used as a springboard to launch herself back into the fray, targeting the staff and the crystal that resided within. If she could just get that out of radiation range…

That option vanished when her charging leap turned into a charging roll when her ring's flight gave out. That single stutter in her motion left her vulnerable to a powerful staff swing that nearly took her head off. Instead, the vision in her right eye darkened, and she felt a bruise forming as she was knocked flat on the gravel of the rooftop. Gasping, Laira hurled herself sideways and barrel-rolled away from the follow-up strike that caved in the roof. She leapt to her feet, staying back just enough to remain out of range of the staff's blunt strikes, but close enough to avoid being shot…hopefully.

They paced around each other, eyes locked, until the hunter tensed and launched himself at Laira with a staff thrust coupled with a blast. She ducked underneath, using the blade to shunt the weapon upward as the shot went off, flying into the distance. Laira spun and slammed both boots into the Gordanian's knee, the creature snarling but otherwise showing no damage. Two up-close staff strikes were just barely parried as she shifted her body to avoid them. The shock of their weapons colliding shook her arms, quickly tiring her muscles without the reinforcement of her failing ring.

As a result, she only withstood three more blows before the blade was knocked from her hands and she threw her arms up to block a staff blast that would've taken her head off. Her armor's bracers shattered, and she was sent flying across the roof to a grinding stop. Groaning loudly, Laira breathed heavily as she painfully sat up, seeing the creature stalking toward her. Her ring's holo-display showed barely .01% power. Her jaw clenched. Every remaining scrap of her will and power was summoned for one final attack.

Beep.

Her gaze flickered for a split-second to the display.

.01%—.05%—.1%

Which was when the ear-splitting crack of a sonic boom reached her ears with a piercing flash of sapphire light.

…

Funny that he couldn't recall the pain of the gunshot that took his knee. If by some miracle he survived this, something told Alex that he'd remember this just fine. The crack of his ribs as he hit the pavement. The agony of his perforated lung as shattered bone pierced soft tissue. The sheer suffocating panic of slowly drowning in his own blood. He fought and clawed and gasped for every wet breath, despite every bone and muscle in his body screaming it was over. Because for every scream, there was just the faintest whisper in answer: his mother, lying in that bed in her last days of life.

"Where there is life—" she'd said, hacking coughs cutting through her words. "Where there is life…"

Alex gasped and bobbed his jaw, his senses fading with every frightfully slow heartbeat. "Where there…is life…there is—"

"Hope."

His purple eyes widened as his heart quite literally stopped with that one word. The darkness overtaking him flickered with just the faintest hint of light, growing and sparking with every passing moment until he believed he had already passed into the next life. Then, all at once, that flicker exploded into a supernova of blue light, the darkness instantly banished and overtaken by a warmth he hadn't felt since his mother died.

"Alexander Kaiser," whispered the selfsame voice from his memory. "You carry within a great wellspring of hope, a beacon of light to all who see it. That light will be needed in the days to come—and you must be the one to carry it. Speak the words, and this light will be given form…and power you could never imagine."

His left hand shuddered and trembled as he reached out to the light, his body failing but spirit refusing to die. He struggled and fought and scrambled for the words, words so elusive, so alien, yet so right. He could not believe that his struggles, his journey, would end like this. He would not believe. And so he stretched out his hand, and his lips moved of their own accord as his eyes began to mirror the blinding light.

"In…fearful day," he rasped, "in…raging night…with strong hearts full…our souls ignite." His left arm dragged his body toward the light, enveloping him in its warmth, and reached out toward it once more as his voice fought past the claws of death. "When all…seems lost…in the War of Light…" his eyes widened, taking in the perfect blue luminance in all its splendor, "look to the stars…for hope…burns…bright!"

And with that final word, his outstretched hand clenched into a fist, and the light took it; that singular anchor ripping him from death's grasp.

Blinding sapphire light exploded from his form, filling the shadowed alley with luminance that far surpassed even the rising sun. The sanguine flow choking his every breath halted and reversed, returning to vessels that righted themselves under the light's faithful glow. Shattered bone was knitted together by azure webs of fate, their structure made whole and stronger than ever in the time it took for their owner to take his first clear breath. A breath that turned into a gasp when the mangled knee of his right leg was bathed in his wellspring, and muscle and bone that had long languished in disrepair for the actions of a coward were made perfectly new.

A fierce, brilliant grin spread over his features as he hovered in the alley some eight feet off the ground.

And then he heard the shout of one most dear, and he just knew what to do.

From one second to the next, he shot forth like a beam of light, the crack of displaced air sounding in his wake. He saw Laira standing bravely against a foe twice her size, despite her disadvantage, despite her grief. He felt her strength fading, her courage waning, and at once his heart went out to reassure her. Her body glowed with emerald light emanating from her ring in waves, that accursed crystal's effects reduced to nothing with his presence alone.

A presence that vanished along with the crystal's owner when Alexander Kaiser, Blue Lantern of Sector 2814, barreled fists-first into his would-be killer with a roar of triumph.

He could destroy this creature. In the blink of an eye, with a flick of his hand, he knew he could kill the hunter, just like he had all the rest. But the rest had been bigger than him. The rest had been stronger than him. They had more advanced tech and alien physiology with God knows what natural defenses. With the rest, he hadn't had a choice. It was him or them.

And now it wasn't.

His left fist nailed the Gordanian in the jaw, his right hooking the creature's staff with a blow rimmed with energy. The weapon flew from his grasp as the third blow slammed him in the gut. The alien barely even touched the ground between hits, so easy and consistent and powerful were Blue's strikes. He tried to strike back, a bone-crushing hit easily smacked aside and countered with a flying knee to the chest. A palm-heel sent him flying back, grinding to a halt in an open field and just managing to rise to his feet as Alex finally touched down.

Alex was on the ground for barely a moment when he launched himself at the hunter, left fist cocked back as he roared in righteous fury.

And pulled his punch at the last possible second.

It still landed. Hard. But a blow that would've taken off the alien's head—and probably most of his torso—merely sent him flying back into a tree to take a nap in the shadow of its laurels.

The Blue Lantern hovered in place a few feet away from where his enemy landed, breathing heavily as he stared at his hands and turned his left to see the ring sitting on its middle finger. He felt more than heard a presence approach at his back and turned to see a slack-jawed Laira floating to land near him. Alex smiled warmly, sighing in relief as he too landed and immediately enveloped her in the protective embrace of his arms.

"I—I don't…" Laira drew back, holding him at arm's length so she could look him over. "How—"

Alex smiled and shook his head slightly. "I don't know…exactly." He looked down at his hand, at the ring that seemed to smile back at him. "But I think…I think everything's going to be okay now."

…

For the first twenty seconds after Alex stopped talking, the booth was silent. As expected, Jason was the first to speak.

"That was…all wrong." He stared at the ex-cop. "Blue Lanterns aren't chosen that way. And you mean to tell me that your dead mom somehow inducted you into the Corps?"

Alex chuckled and shook his head. "No, I knew that couldn't be it, even back then. It was just the way the ring chose to speak to me. You're right; nothing about my induction makes any sense. The Blues are chosen and heavily vetted for a reason: because theirs is the single most powerful light in the spectrum. In the wrong hands, with the wrong mindset, that would be utterly devastating."

"Then how—"

"Adara."

Jason blinked. "Who?"

"Adara, the Entity of Hope, and the source of the Blue Lanterns' power." Alex's ring projected a silhouette of a bird, wings outstretched. "When I went to Odym—the Blues' headquarters—looking for answers, Saint Walker—their de facto leader—examined my ring and found an anomaly previously unknown. A…line of code, for lack of a better term, written into it that made an exception for the ring's induction process and higher functions." He smiled. "I am the first Blue Lantern since Saint Walker himself to be chosen outside the standard process. And the first to be chosen directly by Adara."

Jason stared at the silhouette. "Why?"

Alex shrugged and let the image fade. "I don't know. Well, I have a vague idea. At some point during my stay and training on Odym, I fell into a trance and actually exchanged words with Adara." He scratched the back of his head. "Something about a 'cosmic threat' and me being uniquely placed to counter it." He thumbed the ring. "Over a year with this thing, and I still haven't figured out any specifics. She was really cryptic about it."

Jason snorted and looked off to the side. "I know how that is."

Alex blinked owlishly and leaned back in his seat. "That's my story, kiddo." He shrugged. "So what do you say? Think I can help?"

Jason stared at him blankly, slowly turning to exchange a look with a smugly grinning Caden. "Is he serious?"

Caden just shrugged and grinned wider.

Jason turned back to Alex. "Hell yes you can help." He chewed his lower lip. "Say…that ring can create anything you can think of, right?"

Alex nodded. "As long as I understand how it works."

With a deep breath, mind still racing to process everything he'd just been told, Jason smiled and leaned in close as the others did the same.

"Tell me," said Jason, "what do you know about tracking trans-dimensional energy?"

---

AN: Hello all and welcome to part 2 of the Tomorrow Knight series!

I have been dying to write this chapter and this introduction for years, ever since I first dreamed up Alex's character. The idea of the Blue Lanterns has always fascinated me, and I really wanted to tap into that lore while making one a useful character without the restrictions placed on them by their own rings. The means I use to explain that may sound like a cop-out, but trust me, it'll make sense later when we delve a bit more into Alex's "royal" background.

As every good comic fan knows, a hero is only as good as his villains, and the Tomorrow Knight is going to be facing down quite a few. However, the arch-nemesis is the most important, and coming up with one for him was a labor of love. It may not seem so just yet, but Janus is among the most complex, multifaceted characters I have ever written; and certainly among the most multifaceted villains. Suffice to say, this will not be the last time this story is told from his point of view.

I hope the story is making sense so far. There are going to be a lot of moving pieces in Vagabonds, so hold onto your hats and try to keep up. For now, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and are looking forward to the next, because this opening story arc is going to be NUTS.

Let's kick off summer with a bang.

Drake out.

Musical Inspirations:

Mass Effect: Andromeda - A Better Beginning: start-2:10—dying/memories of Mom/the wellspring/reaching out, 2:10-2:40—the Oath, 2:40-3:09—ripped from death/good as new, 3:09-3:40—taking off/the light of hope/having a choice/flying cross, 3:40-end—the Blue Lantern of Earth/"everything's going to be okay..."

P.S.: If it isn't readily apparent, or you're too ADHD to have read the summary, this is a sequel story to The Tomorrow Knight: Origins. So if you haven't read that yet, go onto my author page and get caught up, or none of this is going to make any kind of sense. Ciao!

Formatting notes:

– Internal Thoughts/Flashback
– "Super-Hearing/Surveillance"
– Telepathy/Divine Speech
– "{Foreign Language}"
– [Text Message]