Tonight was the night.

Weeks, months they'd been planning this, constantly putting it off for one reason or another. No more. They were doing this tonight. Cassandra finished putting in a pair of small teardrop earrings, then shifted her body this way and that to get a good look in the mirror. Cass hadn't had the faintest idea how to prepare for tonight, but Barbara had been a huge help in that regard. Thin, smoky purple eyeliner made her dark eyes stand out, and taupe lipstick gave just enough contrast with her natural skin tone without being visually loud. She'd opted for something casual—it was dinner at a Mongolian grill, not the Ritz—a red cardigan and slacks, with low wedge shoes that gave her maybe an extra inch.

Plus her leather jacket. She'd be picking him up on her bike, after all.

Why he insisted on it when he could run both of them anywhere in the city, Cass wasn't sure, but she suspected it had something to do with repaying her "debt" by putting in more effort. That or it was just an excuse to hold her. She tapped her foot nervously and specifically avoided biting her lip. She was already nervous enough without the mortification of lipstick stains on her teeth. A faint gasp drew her attention behind her, where Diana grinned as she looked Cass over.

"You look beautiful," Diana said, moving close and hugging her.

Cass smiled faintly and brushed her short hair behind her ear. She held Diana tightly and said softly, "Wish me luck."

"You won't need it." Diana pulled back and tapped Cass's forehead. "He won't know what hit him."

As soon as Cass went out into the main hall, Jason's head popped around the corner to his room. He stared at her. She stared back. The moment passed when he hummed and nodded, giving her a thumbs-up. Cass frowned when he was out of sight. Jason had been…off, since the battle at the Fortress. No surprises there, given his outburst and the consequences. But the outburst itself…it didn't sit right with her. The onset was too sharp, too rapid, but his anger had been absolutely genuine.

She was snapped from her thoughts when she reached the bottom of the stairs to see a smiling Alfred holding the door.

"Please drive safely, Miss Cassandra."

She hugged Alfred. "I will, Al. See you later."

Cass patted her pockets to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. She looked around for Bruce until she remembered he and Damian were already out on patrol. Then she sighed and stepped out into the cool air. It was already the beginning of March and steadily getting warmer, though still cold enough to merit a leather jacket. She climbed onto the bike and started it, letting it warm up for a bit before revving the engine and peeling off toward Gotham.

Her nerves were steadily getting worse all the way to the 21st Street Club, Lucas' venue for tonight. He should've been wrapping up his set by the time she got there. When she pulled in, Cass stopped on the curb, taking in the throng of inebriated bodies stumbling out the doors. She texted Luke and waited. A few minutes later, he came walking out in a zipped-open greaser jacket—the same one he'd worn when Jason pummeled him into a dumpster. Cass held back a cringe at the out-of-time retro look and gave him a wave.

He grinned and jogged over, carrying a heavy-looking duffel, probably his sound equipment.

"Hey!" he called, giving her a wave. "Gimme one second."

Luke glanced around to make sure no one sober could see him, then vanished in a gray blur and returned a moment later, sans bag. He'd also ditched the beatnik getup and returned in a black button-up and a gray-hooded leather jacket.

Cass sighed and shook her head. "Remind me, why am I driving us around?"

"Because you made me talk to Amanda Waller and I am owed the full 'dinner out' experience."

Cass stared at him for a second and shrugged. "That's fair."

He climbed on and settled in behind her, taking an extra helmet. Cass leaned in and revved the engine, speeding away from the club. To her surprise, Luke grabbed the seat below him to steady himself. So…not an excuse to hold her. Her lips pursed, and she glanced back at him.

"You can hold onto me if you want," she said.

From the brief look, she saw a flicker of surprise in his body language. Then his arms slowly wrapped around her midsection and settled with a gentle pressure. Cassandra swallowed and kept driving, trying not to let her nerves make her tense up. By the way he was gingerly holding on, Lucas seemed just as nervous. That made her feel a little better.

By the time they reached their destination, Cass was glad for the helmets. She didn't know how visible it would be, but she could feel the heat in her face. Lucas climbed off the bike and tossed his to her as she moved it to a parking space. When she finally pulled her helmet off, Lucas was scoping out the place.

Singapore had had all manner of businesses in its borders during Cass's time there. It was then that she'd established a craving for Mongolian grill, and as luck would have it, a fourth-generation immigrant family had established one right there in downtown Gotham. She quickly fixed her helmet hair, then moved to join Luke on the curb.

"Ready?" she asked.

He smiled and nodded, offering his arm. She chuckled and hooked hers through it, following him inside. The smell of grilled meat and sizzling noodles hit them like a shockwave. Cass was already salivating. They made a beeline for the buffet line, piling on beef and chicken and all manner of noodles and vegetables, all in a single bowl. Clearly this wasn't Lucas' first time in a place like this, and he knew exactly what he wanted. As soon as they were done pouring sauces over their food, they handed it off to the chef.

He tossed it onto a massive circular grill being worked in tandem by two other chefs. Cass and Luke moved to the end of the line and waited.

Lucas looked down at her and smiled. "I swear, everyone just looks better in leather."

She blinked at him. "Well, not all leather."

"…what's that mean?"

Cass shrugged and watched the chefs. "That greaser jacket is uh…" her head shook, "retire it, please. I don't relish the thought of having to watch Kara projectile vomit if we're out in public together."

Lucas snorted laughter. "Is it really that bad?"

"Why do you even have it?"

Luke chuckled and shook his head. "It was a gift from Earth-2's Flash. I decided to make it part of my DJ persona."

Cass tapped his current jacket. "And this one?"

"Oh, this one I've had since I was fifteen. A gift to myself."

She noted how his eyes darkened a bit. "You were still working for Slade then."

He stared at the ground for a second, then took a breath. "Yeah."

They were silent for a bit.

"Speaking of Kara, there any word on how she's doing?"

Cass's head shook. "I haven't asked, and nobody's volunteered. She and I aren't particularly close, but Stephanie is and she hasn't told anyone a thing. So I imagine she's fine, just…isn't talking to the rest of the team at the moment." She sighed hard. "Watching Jason implode has been…" Her head shook. "Y'know what? I really don't want to talk about this. No work, no family drama, just…one night off."

Lucas nodded emphatically. "Message received, totally with you."

Their food was draped onto two large plates and handed off to them, steaming hot. They made their way to a booth and sat across from each other, immediately digging in. A few minutes passed in silence with only the sound of them eating.

Cass swallowed a mouthful of spicy noodles and chicken, then hummed to get Luke's attention. "How did you get so interested in music?"

She saw a flicker of pain in his eyes before he grinned.

"So, back on Earth-Theta, I met my first girlfriend in an old record shop," he said. He swirled a fork around a cluster of noodles. "I always had a thing for music, but I hadn't really given it more than a passing interest. Definitely wasn't planning on making a career out of it." He swallowed another bite. "But then I met Heather, and we got to talking, and one thing led to another. Before I know it, I'm DJ'ing at high school proms and making a fool out of myself to impress her."

Cass smiled. "So what happened with you two?"

His smile faded, and the pain returned. "Remember Quint? The Black Paladin?"

She nodded.

"Turned out she and him had been working together for Deathstroke. She was a witch, a contractor to the spider god Anansi, called herself Arachne. A right pain in the Titans' asses…up until Quint decided to target Jump City with a missile holding a bioweapon payload, and Heather wasn't okay with that." Lucas' jaw tightened as he stared at his plate. "She turned on them both, brought down the missile…and Quint stabbed her in the back. She died before I could heal her."

Cass ate in silence for a bit. "You said you wished you'd snapped his neck when you first met."

Lucas huffed. "Just one of many reasons."

"…whatever happened to him?"

He met her eyes, gaze cold. "I learned from our history."

They kept eating. Lucas was stiff and frowning.

"Anyway, enough about me," he said. "What about your time overseas? Make any friends?" He smirked. "More than friends?"

Her head shook. "I had my work, and that was enough."

"What?" He waved dismissively. "I don't buy that for a second."

Cass shrugged. "Believe it or don't; it's the truth. Maybe a few around the office were interested, but I never was."

"Why not?"

"…just didn't see the point, I guess. I mean, much as I enjoyed being able to strike out on my own, it took maybe a month for me to start getting homesick. I knew it was just a matter of time before I moved back to Gotham; didn't really see the point of forming a relationship that probably wouldn't work out to begin with only to see it crumble because it turned long-distance."

Lucas frowned. "Isn't that something your potential partner should have a say in, too?" He shrugged. "I mean, tell me if I'm totally off-base, but it sounds like you're making a lot of character assumptions thanks to not a lot of evidence."

"When you can read someone's intent with a single look, it doesn't seem practical to waste my or anyone else's time."

His brows knitted. "Yeah, okay, maybe you can read intent, but that doesn't make you psychic. A person doesn't always wear their real self on the outside. It takes time to really know someone's character, even for you." He waved to himself. "Even for me. I can find out just about anything about a person within the first minute of meeting them—their name, address, social security number, banking details—but I don't know them. I don't know the kind of person they are, whether they have integrity or grit or—hell, just common sense. That takes time." He frowned. "And it takes trust."

Cassandra stared at the table.

Lucas sighed. "Again, could be totally off-base, but it seems to me like you're using your 'first language' as a crutch to avoid being vulnerable."

He hadn't raised his voice, hadn't even said anything to really aggravate her, but she still felt agitated by his frank appraisal.

So Cass drained her glass of water and kept eating.

Some minutes later, she asked, "What about you?"

Lucas stared at her. "What about me?"

Cass frowned and met his eyes. "You really mean to tell me you woke up one day and just decided to map out an infinite Multiverse?"

Luke didn't answer.

"What you said about that arrest warrant, back on Earth-Theta—"

"A guy framed me for a murder he committed and laughed about it in court," Lucas said flatly. "I lost it for a second, didn't even really hurt him, and even after I exposed who he really was, they wanted to put me on trial for it." His jaw tightened. "And then the Titans—my own team—tried to help them arrest me."

"Probably because they knew the charges wouldn't stick."

"…maybe."

Cassandra finished her plate in silence. Luke's unease was palpable, and it made her grimace internally. This was supposed to be a nice dinner. She hadn't meant to turn it into an interrogation.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

Lucas met her eyes. "For what?"

Her head shook. "I'm not trying to antagonize you. I just…it feels like you're judging me for avoiding vulnerability when you're literally running away from your friends."

Lucas laughed ruefully. "Oh, I wasn't judging." He looked her up and down. "Just a little irritated that you think so little of yourself."

She stared at him, confused. "How so?"

He fixed his gaze on her eyes. "You're convinced that none of those potential relationships would've worked out, and not just because of the distance." He leaned in, chin on his hands. "Your perception gives you enough forewarning to weed out the worst, and you're not conceited enough to look down on anyone who's attracted to you." He tapped his indexes against his lips. "That leaves one likely reason…and maybe you don't even realize it yourself."

"Yeah? What's that?"

Lucas' lips pursed. "Deep down, you don't think you're worth sticking around for."

Cassandra stared at him, feeling a faint chill crawl up her arms.

He sighed and shook his head. "Which is a real shame, because it's not true." He leaned back and shrugged. "Took me all of a month to figure that out."

"…we met in January."

"Yeah."

"It's March."

His arms crossed. "Your point?"

Cass leaned back in her seat and stared off into the distance. Luke grabbed a few peanuts from a tray and started munching. Her heart was going hard enough for her to feel every beat. After a while, she coughed.

"That was smooth," she said softly.

Luke arched an eyebrow. "Was it?"

"A little."

He smirked and kept munching.

"You know, you really should thank Barbara sometime." She stole some of his peanuts. "If it wasn't for her, I don't know I would've given you a chance." Cass sighed. "But she was right…as usual."

Lucas chuckled. "Guess there's a reason they call her 'Oracle.'"

They sat in comfortable silence for a while.

"Does it bother you, that I dig in so deep?" Cass asked.

"That you're stubborn?"

Her head shook. "That I…pry."

He thought for a second. "No. It's not prying if we're actually getting to know each other, is it? I mean, what else are we gonna talk about? The weather?" His head shook. "If I wanted to know a bunch of useless crap, I could find it out myself. So can you. Guess I don't really see the point in wasting time; I'd rather get to the meat and potatoes and see who a person really is."

Cassandra sighed and chuckled, shaking her head slowly. "Finally, someone who gets it. You know, sometimes I think we spend so much time trying not to hurt anyone's feelings, we rarely ever get to have the discussions that really matter. Even just between two people, especially when it comes to relationships."

"Like you're afraid of breaking some spell if you push too deep."

"Exactly!"

Lucas smiled sardonically. "Yeah, sadly, that's not unique to this Earth."

"It's insane, really."

He nodded. "And what you end up doing is turning yourselves into a society of polite liars who never say what they mean."

She splayed her hands out toward him. "Thank you!"

Lucas grinned and giggled, leaning his chin on his hands. "You're cute when you get animated."

Cass subconsciously bit her lip and stared him down. "You keep giving me compliments, you're gonna be in trouble."

He grinned wider and leaned in, waggling his eyebrows. "Promise?"

She rolled her eyes and palmed his face, pushing him back as his muffled laughter vibrated through her hand.

"Hey."

She ignored him and got up to pay the check.

"Hey."

He was actively following her around and she was actively ignoring him.

"Heyyy…"

Cass sighed and handed the attendant her card as Lucas loomed over her shoulder. "What?"

He leaned in close enough for her to feel his breath as he whispered, "You have stunning eyes."

She straight-up shivered and stared at him as they rung her up. Luke stared back. He didn't back up the slightest bit.

"Here you go," said the attendant.

Cass reached out to grab the card without breaking eye contact. She finally looked away when they walked out to her bike. Lucas followed with a swagger and grin, hands in his pockets. Her heart was still going a million miles an hour, but it was different now, no longer frightening.

It thrilled her.

She climbed on the bike and started it up, handing him his helmet. He climbed in behind her and wrapped his arms around her midriff. Even through the helmet, she could see the smile in his eyes, and once they got moving, he wasn't the least bit shy about holding her tight. Cassandra drove all the way back to his place, shivering every so often, but not from the cold. No, she shivered whenever his thumbs started drawing patterns into her belly through her shirt. And that's all he did, just held her and wiggled his thumbs.

Finally, they pulled up to Luke's apartment building, right down the block. He dismounted and grabbed his helmet, swishing his hair free of it with a flourish. Luke smiled and handed it back to her. Cass had seen a lot of different emotions in her time, language of motion both subtle and bold. But the way he was looking at her now…

She'd never seen desire that intense—certainly never directed at her.

Cass swallowed and took the helmet, setting it aside as she pulled her own off.

Lucas stuffed his hands in his pockets and kept smiling. "I had a great time, Cass."

Her lips pursed. "Me too."

Luke's gaze flickered down from her eyes, then he took a small step back. "Did you…wanna hang out and talk for a bit?"

Her heart was beating so fast, she could barely form words. "I…don't think that would be wise, for either of us."

He chuckled and nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're uh, probably right."

She cleared her throat. "Besides, our conversation earlier got me thinking."

Luke's brows furrowed. "About?"

"I know it might seem like blind leading the blind, given my lack of experience, but…I don't want to leave Jason to figure all this out on his own. He needs to talk to someone about Kara, about everything really, and it can't be someone like Caden."

Luke frowned and hummed. "Kid needed to hear it."

She sighed. "I know. Still."

"Yeah." Lucas took a deep breath. "Well, I wish you good luck with that." He smiled widely. "G'night."

"Night," she said softly, watching him start to turn.

Then Barbara's ever-annoying voice echoed in her head.

"…when was the last time you did something…spontaneous, impulsive—maybe a little stupid—just for the fun of it?"

Cass grabbed his hand and pulled him back in close, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. His gray eyes widened as he gently held her hips, standing chest to chest with her. His gaze flickered down from her eyes again. She wet her lips.

"Cass," he whispered.

She tugged his shoulders and stood on tiptoes. He immediately leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. They sat there for a long moment, just that single point of contact. Then Cass pulled away and heard his breathing stutter. The sound alone ignited a heat in her chest. So she pulled him right back in, fingers tangling in his charcoal-gray hair as her lips parted just a bit. Luke sighed and reciprocated, hands drifting up her sides to her shoulderblades. His fingers tightened around her leather jacket, making it squeak faintly.

Cass was breathing heavy, and he'd barely touched her. So she forced herself to stop, to pull back, get arm's length between them. Only the night wind and their panting could be heard.

Finally, she found her voice and the presence of mind to meet his eyes. "Good night, Luke."

His lips twitched with a smile. "Good night, Cass."

With a physical effort, she let go of him and climbed back on her bike. His giddy laughter followed her as she pulled off, glancing in her side mirror to see him skipping to his building. Her face was on fire, but she still grinned as she rode home.

…

Lucas cackled as he took his time walking home. One thing was certain: he was going to need a long, cold shower before bed. Or a long run. Possibly both. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and chuckled as he climbed the steps to the building's front door. In the twenty-one years he'd been alive, he could count on maybe one hand the number of perfect nights he could remember. The look on her face when she pulled away—

Rao, she's so cute.

He reached for the door.

In the blink of an eye, his apartment block was gone, and his ribs were screaming. Lucas rolled to a stop in the middle of an abandoned parking lot, groaning and pushing himself upright. Around him, he could hear a rush of wind, drawing his gaze to a faint flash of light. That light glinted off shattered glass and the rebar holding down crumbling concrete partitions. It was a split-second later that he suffered another impact, this time to the legs, that sent him twirling through the air. This time, he caught himself, landing on all fours and immediately whirling around to strike behind him.

Something brushed right past his fist, and his eyes widened when he saw a flicker of deep violet in his peripherals. Another turn, and his breathing got heavy as cortisol flooded his system.

"It can't be…it can't be…"

A faint, distorted laugh echoed through the empty lot. Luke heard the faintest hint of motion and whirled toward it, throwing both hands out palms-first. Immediately, he grit his teeth as his arms nearly buckled with the impact. Another pair of hands was tangled with his, and beyond them—

A shock of auburn hair, amber eyes—and flickers of white-core electricity rimmed by black light stirring inside them.

"Do you believe it now?" asked that distorted voice.

Lucas clenched his jaw. "I saw you die."

An arm-span away, Theodore Quint laughed and shook his head. "You saw an explosion. We both know that's no guarantee."

With that, Quint kneed him in the ribs—same spot he'd hit before—and broke Luke's grip to pummel him in the face with an onslaught of lightning-rimmed punches. Rev turtled up, using his arms to defend, then lashing out with a trip-kick that sent Quint to the ground. He tried to pin Quint, but found himself kicked off and launched into a busted streetlight.

"There was nowhere to run!" Rev screamed, scrambling to his feet.

"There was for you!"

Those cheap shots had taken their toll—Luke could barely breathe. So he took off away from the lot, breaking the sound barrier almost instantly. Windows shattered in their wake as he sprinted for the city limits, trailing silver lightning. Quint was right on him, trailing ultraviolet lightning. Rev's lack of breath caught up to him in seconds, on the highway just outside Gotham, when Quint cut him off and tackled him into a signpost. He grabbed that broken signpost midair and swung at Rev hard enough to send him flying into the concrete partition separating oncoming traffic.

Rev ducked his next swing, jabbing his face and uppercutting him in the ribs. Another swing, and he weaved around to Quint's left side, nailing him in the kidney and shin-kicking the back of his leg. Quint twirled with the signpost, and Rev vibrated his hand while swinging in the opposite direction, shearing the metal. A follow-up cross slammed Quint in the jaw—but he'd already countered with a cross of his own. Both speedsters slid back with the impact, one hyperventilating, the other laughing.

"Payback time, peasant," Quint sneered. "I wonder, how should I punish you this time, hm?"

Luke growled and charged at him, the whole world moving by at a crawl as they chased each other down the highway. The speed of their steps alone tore divots into the pavement, and every time they hit, the pop of a sonic boom echoed through the night. They ran side by side, snapping shots at each other until Quint punched high. Rev ducked and used one hand to deflect the blow further upward while he used his other arm to slam an elbow into Quint's lower ribs—turnabout was fair play, after all.

Quint slid to a stop, then dodged Luke's next three lunges. "Should I tear down that cushy little apartment of yours?"

Luke growled and finally landed a hit—on Quint's palm.

"Maybe pay your old team a visit back home?"

Rev followed up with a barrage of backhands and hooks, but Quint somehow managed to deflect all of it. A shock of horror ran through him. Quint was fast—he wasn't this fast, and he'd always ever had gray lightning, not…whatever the hell this was. Something was very wrong.

Then Quint completely disengaged and ran to an underpass, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. "Ooh—what about that little Asian chick you've been hanging out with? She's cute."

Instantly, Luke's nostrils flared, and he growled, "You leave Cass out of this!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, dread seized him. That only intensified when Quint's taunting smirk turned to a full-blown grin.

"There it is," he hissed.

Luke's eyes widened. His mind flashed with memories—dark skin turned pale with exsanguination, two pairs of amber eyes closed forever, a glowing hand open at the beginning of time. Then Lucas blinked and saw Cass's blushing face, and for the briefest of instants, he was frozen in terror.

And then there was only rage.

The White Revenant roared as he shot toward Quint like a laser, tackling him through street signs, lampposts, slamming him into trees and structures. His kinetic siphon drew energy from Earth's rotation and Quint's own counterattacks. Rev sprinted through an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town, punching through wall after column after wall with Quint's body as the wrecking ball. Luke's chest surged with vindictive glee as he saw bruise after laceration mounting on Quint's features and limbs. He slammed the bastard into the ground and punched him a hundred times before letting up, and even then only to rip a chunk of rebar from a broken pillar and try to beat him to death with it.

Yet when he turned back, Quint was gone. No trace he'd even been laid out on the ground.

That's impossible.

Even a speedster couldn't heal that fast. Then he heard movement and whirled around only to have the rebar yanked from his grip. Another rush of air came from another direction and laid him out. Another rush from another direction.

And another.

And another.

Half a dozen ultraviolet lightning trails slammed into him almost in tandem, pummeling him into the ground. The last impaled his left leg with the jagged rebar, pinning him to the ground.

Lucas screamed as he grabbed his leg, looking up. His eyes widened, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

There, standing in front of him, was Theodore Quint—six of him.

"Neat, isn't it?" asked the center figure, voice vibrating unnaturally. Five of them receded into the central body, who stalked right up to Lucas and knelt in front of him. "I owe you for this." He smiled sadistically. "Hope you enjoyed your night."

Luke vibrated his hand and cut the rebar in half, trying to stab Quint with the other half. In a split-second, Quint had withdrawn a step, his entire body vibrating indistinctly. Then three other bodies split off from him and proceeded to pummel Rev right back down. Lucas swung back and landed a solid hit on one's center mass. To his shock, the duplicate straight-up vanished, warped out of existence like it was never there. Then two more took its place and beat him right back down. He didn't know how long they wailed on him, or even how many of them there were by the end. All he knew was by the end, his jaw was shattered, one eye was completely swollen shut, and he was barely hanging onto consciousness.

The last thing he heard was a hissed, "See you around, Carlisle."

And then he was alone in the empty warehouse. Immediately, Lucas went for his phone with shaky fingers. Moments later, someone picked up.

"Hey."

Lucas wasted no time, ignoring his busted jaw to force slurred words out. "Cass, get ev'ryone—in th' cave. He's—he's com'ng."

"Luke? What's—"

"No time!" he shouted. "Get to th' cave! He's com'ng!"

"Who?"

Lucas could feel himself fading, but still managed to slur out, "Quint…Quint…"

Then his phone fell from limp fingers, and he slumped over.

…

As soon as the line went dead, Cass grabbed Jason and ran for the grandfather clock. She hit her panic button, and as one, everyone converged on the secret elevator. In less than a minute, the whole family minus Batman and Robin was in the Batcave, with Jason in full armor and a very pregnant Diana gripping her sword. Alfred stepped out from behind the batcomputer half a minute after arrival and broke the cave's silence when he racked a shell into the shotgun he kept for special occasions.

The alarm ping had been sent out to Batman, they were sure, so he'd be headed back any minute. A call came in to the computer. Diana put it on speaker.

"I saw the alarm; what's wrong?" Batman demanded.

"Lucas called," Cass said, preparing a set of flashbang grenades. "Warned me about a rogue speedster who found him. He thinks he's coming here next." She frowned. "I think…I think Luke's in trouble."

"Where is he?"

"Tracing his phone now."

A moment later, they had coordinates.

"I'm sending them your way, Batman," Cass said.

"We'll find him, then head home."

"No!" Jason interrupted. "If this is a trap, that speedster could be waiting to ambush you." His lips pursed. "I'll go."

Cass turned to him. "Jason—"

"If he's important to you, he's important to me." He met her eyes. "I'll be okay."

Her lips pursed tightly.

"We'll investigate together," Batman said. "ETA two minutes."

"I can be there in one," Jason replied.

He waited the extra minute in the cave, then launched out the Batwing's exit hatch. Long minutes passed in silence as they waited for something to happen. Ten minutes went by. No alarms, not even the slightest hint of trouble. When the quiet was finally broken, it was by the returning Batmobile screeching to a stop down below. Cass rushed to the car as the top hatch slid open. She clapped a hand over her mouth when she saw the state of Lucas.

He and his clothes were scorched with electrical and pavement burns. His face was a mottled mess of bruises and swelling. His leg was wrapped in thick gauze over a giant hole in his thigh that was already bleeding through. And the skin of his hands was peeled and shredded, mostly over the knuckles. She'd seen less damage on him from punching metal. How hard had he been swinging?

She helped Robin carry him up to a medical table, where Alfred was waiting with his instruments. The old combat medic got to work immediately, removing his jacket and cutting off his clothes while Jason stood by to hold him down if necessary. Cass walked away, both to preserve his modesty and not see the full extent of the damage. Her curiosity got the better of her, and the color drained from her face when she saw the state of his torso. Half his ribs were caved in, his collarbone looked lopsided, and he was covered in dark, ugly bruises. It had been fifteen minutes since the assault, and he still looked like this.

Bile crawled up her throat for a moment before she forced it down.

Then she walked away for real, sitting in the armory slumped over. Her leg tapped a nervous rhythm on the floor. Diana sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Cass's hands were shaking. She looked down at herself. She hadn't even had time to change out of her date clothes when he called. She looked over toward the Batcomputer to see Damian standing over Bruce's shoulder as they reviewed the security system.

From what little she could see, it didn't seem like any alarms or early warning systems had been tripped. Which was strange; they were configured to work even for speedsters. If Quint was coming, he'd have struck by now. Apparently, they came to the same conclusion, because a few minutes later, the lockdown was lifted and those two joined Diana and Cass. Quiet steps drew their attention a long while later.

Cass looked up to see Alfred peeling off bloody gloves with a pale Jason in tow.

"What's the damage?" Bruce asked.

Alfred frowned and sighed. "If he were anyone else, I would've rushed him to Dr. Thompkins immediately. As it is, between the arterial rupture in his thigh and the broken rib that punctured his lung, he is very lucky to be alive. Not to mention what must be severe head trauma. We'll need to perform MRI and X-ray testing to be sure there isn't more damage, but for now, he seems stable."

"Is he awake?" Cass asked, shakily standing up.

Alfred's head shook. "Mercifully, no. Stabilizing him would not have been a painless experience, and his metabolism would've burned through any anesthetic we have."

Cassandra nodded and swallowed her bile again.

"Let us know when he wakes up," Bruce said. "We need answers."

Alfred nodded. "Of course, sir." He turned to Cass. "Miss Cassandra, might I recommend a spot of herbal tea to calm your nerves?"

She nodded numbly and went to the elevator, followed by everyone except Bruce and Alfred. Their trip to the kitchen passed in a blur, and before she knew it, they were all sitting in the study around the lit fireplace. Damian was out of his uniform and stoking the logs while Cass sat on the couch with Diana on one side and Jason on the other. She gripped the steaming cup like a lifeline, unable to banish the sight of Lucas' broken body. She should've gone back to see him once he was patched up.

Cass shook her head. "How did it so wrong so fast?" she said softly.

Jason's jaw visibly tightened. "That's the life."

She glanced his way, then sipped her tea. Only the crackling flame broke the silence for a long time. An hour later, the grandfather clock clicked open, and Alfred and Bruce stepped out.

"He is awake," the former said simply.

As one, everyone descended to the cave and went to the medical station. Luke's entire torso was wrapped in pressure bandages, and the gauze around his leg had been swapped for a clean set. His head was also wrapped to stabilize his broken jaw, and his face was covered in butterfly bandages. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut, his entire face contorted in pain. His hands clenched into fists.

Cass sidled up to him and gently touched his right hand. One eye opened to meet hers, and he slowly opened his fingers to hold hers.

"Hey," she whispered.

He didn't speak. Given the state of his jaw, that was probably for the best.

Still…

"Lucas," Diana said gently, "we need to know what we're dealing with."

He visibly swallowed and pointed to the side with his other hand. "Jacket," he hissed through clenched teeth.

Damian rifled through it and found the hollow device containing his nanosuit. He handed it to Luke, who pressed a few controls that brought up a holographic interface. A massive dossier pulled up on Theodore Quint, the Black Paladin. Cass started reading and felt the color drain from her face. What Luke had told her about his crimes…it hadn't even scratched the surface. And at the very end of his file…

"Wait, the Anti-Monitor?" Jason asked. He turned to Luke. "Quint worked for the Anti-Monitor?"

Lucas nodded stiffly. "Tried to use…some kinda…antimatter cannon. Blow up the Multiverse."

Diana frowned. "That happened here too, years ago."

"It shouldn't be possible for those events to have happened on multiple Earths," Bruce said.

Lucas grunted and grimaced. "I have a…theory on that." He swallowed hard. "I've traveled to worlds that are…different than most. They have a strange vibrational resonance compared to other universes. As the Prime Earth, this universe is one of those exceptions. So are Earths Alpha and Theta, where I'm from." He grimaced and panted as another wave of pain hit. "Quint…wanted to make himself a god. And he wasn't afraid to wipe out all of creation to do it. So he made a deal with the Anti-Monitor and transported that antimatter cannon to the dawn of time, where no one would be able to stop it." Luke snorted a sardonic laugh. "Or so he thought."

"You stopped him," Cass said.

He nodded.

"How?" Damian asked. "The Barry Allen of Earth-26 had to die just to stop that cannon. How did you survive?"

Luke reluctantly met Cass's eyes, hesitating for a moment. "I fought Quint on the cannon and used our combined speed to destroy it. Moments before the dawn of creation, I threw him into the center of the explosion, then escaped into the Speedforce." He swallowed hard. "Somehow, he survived…stronger."

Bruce frowned. "Stronger how?"

His head shook. "Faster, for sure…but something else too. Somehow, he can…replicate himself at will."

"Like your time remnants?" Bruce asked.

Another head shake. "No…if it was, the Speedforce would've sent something to stop him already. This is something new." He thought for a long moment. "Whenever the duplicates struck, they were…lesser. Slower, weaker to a degree. And when I hit one, it went down instantly, just straight-up vanished. Like…like it was just a fragment."

Jason laughed sardonically and started pacing. "Great. So now we've got a suped-up rogue speedster just…out there." He turned to Luke. "What does he want with us?"

Luke's eyes slid shut. "Nothing. His only motivation is to hurt me."

Cass stared at him. "He was watching tonight. He knows about us."

He swallowed and nodded.

Jason huffed and laughed some more. "Fantastic."

Cass turned and looked at Jason. He was exhibiting that same odd energy he'd had in the Fortress of Solitude, and back on Themyscira when he was sparring with Philippus.

He whirled to Luke. "Y'know, we really, really did not need this right now."

Lucas stared at the ceiling. "No one knows that better than me."

Cass glared at Jason in silence until he met her gaze. Then—the exact same thing happened as in the Fortress. It was like a moment of pure impulse and anger, and then his face flooded with color and regret.

Jason swallowed and looked away, turning for the elevator. He stopped a few steps away, then looked back at Luke. "I'm glad you're safe."

Then he left.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks something's wrong with him," Lucas said through his teeth.

Diana frowned and stared at the elevator. "You aren't. I've seen something similar before."

Bruce met her eyes. "Ares."

She shrugged. "Maybe, but it's too inconsistent. Ares' psychic abilities usually erode restraint and exacerbate malice, slowly but steadily building to a pressure point." Her head shook. "What we're seeing in Jason is…spikes, outbursts, not a warping mindset. Moreover, Ares usually has to be in proximity to exert that kind of influence, especially on an Amazon."

"Maybe it's hitting him differently because he's only half-Amazon," Damian suggested.

She frowned. "Could be."

"We have a more pressing issue," Bruce said. "This new speedster—he's targeting the two of you."

Cass and Lucas looked at each other. He stared at her face for a while, and a different kind of pain entered his eyes as they shut.

"I can…lure him away." He swallowed. "My tachyon device charges every time I run. I can use that energy to jump to another Earth, keep him chasing me."

"No," Cass said firmly, heart hammering. "If he followed you here, he'll follow anywhere. You can't run forever."

"Cass, I won't let him get to you."

"And you think leaving will keep me safe? If he wants to hurt you, he's going to go for the sure thing."

Luke stared at the ceiling for a moment. "Which means he's gonna stay right here and wait until you're vulnerable."

Cass looked up at Bruce. "We'll go into hiding, both of us. We have safehouses all over the world. Quint can't possibly know about all of them."

"I won't ask you to leave your life behind," Luke said.

"You're not asking. And neither am I." She looked up at Bruce and Diana. "Well?"

The married couple exchanged a frown.

Bruce sighed hard. "Until we have a better handle on Quint's movements, that's probably our best play." He turned to Lucas. "Your prognosis isn't good; even with your abilities, you'll have to take it easy for at least a week to make a full recovery. Probably longer."

He sighed. "I understand." He met Bruce's eyes. "I won't let anything happen to her. I promise."

Bruce's jaw tightened. "I'll hold you to that, Carlisle."

With that, Cassandra and Lucas were left alone with only the steady, rapid beep of his heart monitor to break the silence. He draped an arm over his eyes as his shoulders shook with silent sobs.

His voice broke. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry I got you into this."

She gripped his hand tightly and knelt, leaning in close. "I'm not."

Cass held his hand and pulled up a chair to sit with him until he calmed, slowly getting used to the pain enough to drift off. Alfred found them together a little while later, both passed out with her head on his shoulder. He draped blankets over both of them, adjusting her head to lay on a small pillow instead.

Then he sighed and double-checked the early warning systems before heading to bed.

…

Hours Earlier

Agony. Decay. Constant, blinding pain. These were the final gifts the Revenant had given him that day. Gifts he would repay.

He streaked toward Wayne Manor, trailing ultraviolet lightning as he broke the sound barrier. No doubt the Batman had some hefty defenses, but they wouldn't last forever against a speedster of his caliber. He came just within sight of the manor before his legs gave out. Quint screamed and growled as his entire body seized and shuddered with spasms.

Not now…not now!

It was like a million needles stabbing all over his body, and there was no end in sight. He screamed his lungs out into the empty night air. And then the forest was gone, and he was lying on a table. Quint blinked rapidly, head snapping sideways when he felt a different kind of needle stab into his shoulder. He stared wide-eyed at the olive-skinned man who removed an injector and tossed it into a bin.

"Hello," he said.

Quint eyed him suspiciously, gaze focusing in on his unnatural gold eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

He smiled and pushed himself up to sit on a table. A closer look revealed his face was littered with cuts and bruises. "My name is Janus."

"Okay, maybe the better question: why should I care?"

Another shock of pain traveled up Quint's spine, cutting off any further sass.

Janus snapped his fingers and pointed to Quint. "That's why. See, I have certain resources that may be able to stabilize your…condition, at least for a time. Maybe long enough for you to exact your revenge."

Quint grasped his arms, rubbing out the needle pains. "Why do you care?"

Janus smiled. "I don't." His smile faded. "But your uh… 'nemesis' has proven…worrisome to my designs." He patted his left leg. "I need him not pointing his attentions my way."

Quint chuckled and leaned back on the table. "He kicked your ass, didn't he?"

"He caught me off-guard, is all." Janus frowned and leaned on his clasped hands. "Now, let me be clear: I will not tolerate your usual tactics. Neither will your body. Keep Carlisle busy…but leave the Waynes to me."

Quint sat up and snarled, "And what makes you think I'll answer to you?"

Janus stared back at him, slowly getting up and approaching the speedster. He gently placed a hand on his shoulder and waved to the open air with the other. "You can do whatever you want, Theodore. But as you know, your new abilities didn't come without cost. You won't get very far without treatment, and if you happen to impede my plans, well…"

Janus' fingers snapped, and a tear in reality opened, showing Quint a cosmic maelstrom of supercolliding matter spreading infinitely across a universe in its inception, expanding ever outward from the Hand of Creation. Quint stared into the portal in horror, already feeling a hint of needling pain crawling up his back.

"I plucked your shredded corpse from that maelstrom, Theodore," Janus whispered in his ear. "I can just as easily send you back."

Quint swallowed hard as the portal vanished. Finally, he met Janus' eyes. "Then…how did you want me to play this…boss?"

Janus smiled.

AN: Seeing as I never finished The White Revenant, this is the first time any of my readers will have actually met Theodore Quint. Until now, he's mostly been a boogeyman just vaguely mentioned by Lucas. From now on, he's going to be a major player in the story—but that comes later.

Speedster fights have always been a favorite of mine for a variety of reasons, not least of which the dynamic of their extreme speed and how it makes them look in relation to the world around them. I had to write a good number of those in Angel, for those who've read that. Here's hoping I haven't lost my edge with it.

Next chapter is going to be…interesting. I know more or less how I want it to play out, just haven't worked out the specifics, so I'll probably have to improv most of it. We'll see. The two after that, though…I know exactly how those are going to work out. Hopefully I can muscle through it, because we still haven't hit rock bottom.

Drake out.

Formatting notes:
– Internal Thoughts/Flashback
– "Super-Hearing/Surveillance/Hallucination"
– Telepathy/Divine Speech
– "{Translation}"
– [Text Message]