Guess who's BACK?! Back Again! It's been a While. I don't want to take up a lot of time so check the A/N at the bottom. With that said, let's jump right in.

GOTHAM CITY – GRANT'S GYM

June 10th, 2008. 12:45 PM-EST

Ted's POV:

Ted walked through his bathroom door undoing the black tie of his suit, as a tired sigh escaped his lips; his right hand coming up to rub at his eyes and the bridge of his nose respectively.

'Hard to believe things have been movin this quick. Been a hell of a couple days.'

The assembled group finished pushing back through the bathroom door that Eva had 'bridged' for them, so that they could attend Richard Tyler's quiet service.

Ted, Jack, Helena, and Occult had called Eva and Constantine so that they could make the traveling easier.

Wesley had obviously been beside himself, after the high stakes of the mission were finally fully passed.

Ted had attempted to talk to his longtime friend, to give him more time to genuinely grieve without having to speed through the process of arranging his godson's burial.

But Wesley had had the wherewithal to argue over the fact…

'And unfortunately, his point stands.' Ted thought morosely as he walked into his bedroom while ditching his tie and black suit jacket; the echoing memory of Wesley's words rattling around his own tired mind.

"Ted if I wait, the Agency is bound to attempt to step in. They'll want an autopsy. Richard has been through Enough. His family has been through Enough. I have a few small favors left to use up at the precinct back in New York. I'll get him privately cremated, and fortunately he already has burial plots set up. I'll reach out to Samantha. Hopefully she'll be amenable to see his services seen to quietly."

Richard's wife had been understanding, even though she was rightfully, frustrated.

She had clearly loved her husband but had hated what he had chosen to do for a living.

What should have been a regular burial service had been a clipped affair.

Samantha hadn't even deigned to bring their children, siting that she'd left them with her own mother; and that the family would be hitting the road as per a plan that Richard himself had established a long time ago when he'd decided to go through with joining the Agency.

Samantha had asked that Wesley ensure that the marble marker was put in place for Richard as she didn't plan to return to New York for a long time, if ever again for that matter.

Wesley had seemed upset to hear that declaration but seemed to keep any opinions about the course of action to himself.

Wesley had opted to return home after the service to rest, and Constantine along with Eva and Grundy would be handling something of an arcane nature in England.

Walking back out into the living room, Ted watched as Helena gave Jack a brief hug before stepping out herself, saying that she was going to run to her apartment and get changed and check up on something before returning.

One of the only reasons Ted had even been okay with Helena coming to the service, besides her obvious involvement in the mission; was because school was so close to letting out for the summer.

'Really gonna have to get her to buckle down and be careful. Can't have her racking up absents and jeopardizing her position at that fancy school. She's gotta have more of a future than just…this.' Ted thought with slight sorrow tinged with agitation.

Ted took a deep breath as he looked to Jack who was positioned at the kitchen's island, his hands on the counter while he leaned forward slightly onto it; looking deep in thought.

Clearly his young ward had a lot going on in his head, if the grimace on his face was anything to go by.

The returning that night…or more likely morning…whichever it had been, had been hard on everyone.

With the adrenaline and set purpose now faded, the circumstances were crystal clear as if being magnified under a scope.

Richard Tyler was dead, and truth be told if Ted was asked his opinion on the matter; Jack had almost died too. The Miraclo had vanished into thin air with no apparent way to find it, and the squad that had set out had tangled with a mission at the international level.

The very thought of it all sent a shiver down Ted's spine, while causing a sudden tightening in his chest.

Thinking back to all that time ago, when he'd given up being Wildcat, which really almost felt like a lifetime ago for Ted; he never would have guessed that he'd be suiting up again.

'Least of all to travel internationally to help fight a Mech of all things.'

Back when Jack had first shown up and asked to be trained, Ted hadn't really believed that things would ever escalate as far as they had with this most recent escapade.

Sure, Jack had opened up to him. He'd explained his power, and what it would eventually mean for him going forward as a hero.

'But I didn't think any of that would happen so soon.'

Ted found himself constantly struggling when it came to Jack. He felt much the same for Helena, but he and Jack had somehow become even closer than that.

He loved the young man, as if he were his own son. It made things difficult when he had to remind himself that Jack had already once been a grown man, lived a life of his own, while having his own family.

It made it difficult to even watch him go out and fight simple mooks with guns.

He wanted to protect him, felt a familial urge to do so.

Jack still often spoke about going home… but how could he do that if he died here as a hero.

Jack had remained unconscious for a time after they had returned from Chong Mai, so the conversation that Ted sought about those thoughts hadn't come until later in the night when they'd finally been alone.

The group hadn't necessarily celebrated, because one of their own had died; even though only Wesley was close with Richard Tyler.

But that being said, there had been what could be construed as minor revels.

Jack had literally destroyed a massive Mech and avoided death himself.

That deserved celebration.

Jack had divided his time flittering between the others while Ted had quietly observed him while conversing on and off with the older members of their group, watching as Jack took time for each person, no matter their level of involvement in the operation.

He'd profusely thanked Grundy and Eva for helping to see him healed while gently explaining to everyone what it had felt like when pressed, though he had clearly been uncomfortable with the retelling. He'd thanked Constantine and Occult for trying to track down the Miraclo pills, though he was clearly still pensive and concerned over the fact that they were missing.

And of course he'd thanked both Helena and himself for backing him up.

He'd done so again when Ted had attempted to broach the subject of all that had been on his own mind.

"Ted, I Want to go home. But how could I face my family again if I don't do all that I can? How can I call myself a hero at all if I don't? I Know that I got lucky this time. I'm beyond grateful to Eva and Grundy. I'm gonna do a little something for the both of them when I can to pay them back…but Ted; I Can't just let things happen when I have the strength to try and stop it. Yes, I want to go home. So badly. But I can't, and more importantly Won't just let things happen if I know that I can make a difference."

As bullheaded as it sounded to Ted…he respected it.

He could never deny that he was proud of Jack.

'I Know he plans to leave, but I'm gonna do everything I can. Not just to make sure that you Can leave, but that on the off chance that you Can't? That your well taken care of. I promise you.' Ted thought as he walked up to Jack, placing his left hand on Jacks right shoulder; the pensive look on his face having been the driving force behind all of his own thoughts.

"Hey. You doin alright?"

Jack looked up at him, and Ted watched as a war of emotion played out across the young mans face.

One thing Ted had noticed in his time getting to know Jack was that he was a very expressive person when he wasn't trying to hold anything back, his face being very emotive.

'It's a good thing he's practiced, or he'd be terrible at poker.' Ted thought with a private inner chuckle, as he watched Jack switch between pensive, frustrated, and thoughtful before seemingly settling his face into what Ted took as a quiet kind of resignation.

"Yeah. I'm ok."

…

If the facial features hadn't been enough of a giveaway, Jacks saddened tone was the coup de grace.

"C'mon Jack talk to me." Ted said as tried to hold his wards gaze.

Jack patted Ted's hand once before removing the hand as he started to slightly pace back and forth, slowly picking up to a steady rhythm while he made small gestures with his hands as he talked.

"I just…I've got a lot on my mind. I feel terrible. Like I didn't do enough, ya know? Or that maybe if we'd done things a little differently that Wes wouldn't have had to bury Richard."

Ted felt slight indignation rise up within himself At Jack for his self-depreciating thoughts.

"Hey Now. You stop that, ya hear? We did everything that we could Jack, You did everything you could."

Jack stopped and turned to face him, slightly throwing his hands up in the air as he spoke.

"If I hadn't of split the two groups, maybe we could have assaulted the facility faster. We could have gotten to Richard, and he may have still been alive."

Ted felt the mild urge to smack Jack upside the head come and go, before he took a deep breath and spoke to him again.

"Listen to me, and I mean Really listen Jack. You Don't know that. I Understand. I get that that's where your heads at, I really do. But you honestly did everything that you could have. You went above and beyond, not just for Richard; but for all of those people that we saved over in Chong Mai. You talked to that General. They were just gonna let that thing go, it was right behind you wreckin the place and they didn't even blink. Sure, Atom showed up. But do you honestly think he was gonna be enough alone? Not only did we get Richards body back because of you getting us all together to go over there, but because of you dozens if not a little over a hundred people are still alive. To start. I didn't know Richard Tyler…which is honestly a shame. I shoulda made an effort to get to know him, regardless of how things ended between his old man and I; and I'm probably gonna regret that for the rest of my days. But something you need to get through your thick skull, is that Richard Tyler would appreciate everything you did. Not only would he appreciate it, but he'd understand. He was a hero too…and you did what a hero is supposed to do."

Ted watched as his own impassioned speech passed over his young ward, and waited while hoping that the words would get through to the clearly frustrated young man.

After having him around for so long, Ted felt he could say that he knew Jack; and knew him well.

Jack was clearly an empathetic and caring individual by nature, wanting to see the best in people while striving to do his best to always do the right thing.

Jack had a strong and clear sense of moral justice and duty, but along with that was one of Jack's biggest personal weaknesses; which seemed to be taking out any and all of his frustration with what he perceived as injustice or personal failure against himself.

The young man seemingly had the nasty habit of turning most all of any negativity he could feel inward; and Ted knew that it wasn't productive or healthy.

Jack had expressed that even though most of time he seemed to be doing just fine, the fact of the matter was that even though he knew all that he knew and had already lived a life; he was an adult personality inside of teenager's body.

Jack was fighting against his own body chemistry every day. Doing his best to remain as mature and adult like as possible, while not only dealing with the fact that his own hormones were waging the natural war of growing up inside of him; but he was also dealing with the level of grief that he had because of his circumstances.

Jack had many times expressed how much he loved being a hero, how much he loved having his sense of purpose.

It was a natural thing in Ted's mind, and he understood it all too well.

Saving people, making a difference, the feeling that came from all of it was indescribable.

Jack often said that he'd felt very few things that could compare in the joy that being a hero brought him, to feel that he had fulfilled his purpose; and that it made a difference.

But Ted knew what those other feelings were.

Jack missed being a father.

Jack missed being with his friends and loved ones.

Jack missed his home…and everyone from it.

So the entire situation with Richard…had pushed a few particular buttons, and Ted knew it.

Ted watched as Jack took a deep breath, his face looking somewhat more at ease than before, his mouth looking as though it was going to form so that he could speak.

The moment was halted as the police scanner cut on, announcing first a jewelry store robbery, which was then summarily followed by the announcement of what appeared to be a gang related shootout in the Narrows.

Ted had barely taken his eyes off Jack in looking towards the scanner, but by the time both announcements had passed Ted had turned back to try and speak to Jack; and found himself having to fully swivel in a full circle to barely catch sight of Jacks retreating back as his rooms door closed.

"Duty Calls."

Ted couldn't say how long he stood staring at Jack's door before it once again opened showing him in his full All Might regalia, already sparking with power as he bolted for the backdoor that led to the fire escape.

"I'll be back later Ted. Doc if you're not here when I get back I'll see ya soon."

SLAM

Just like that, Jack was already back out and on the move again.

Ted released a deep sigh as he brought his right hand up to the bridge of his nose to massage it a bit, the small ball of worry that he seemed to always have for Jack once again churning a bit at him going out to face the world again.

A small clearing of the throat actually somehow startled Ted.

He'd known Rich was still here, hell he'd just heard Jack say goodbye to the man.

'That's gotta have something to do with magic. Maybe some kind of presence dampening effect or something…at least if Jack is right. Which I'd put money on him being so.' Ted thought as he turned his head to look at Rich who was currently seated at the dining room table on one end with a steaming cup of something sitting before him.

His longtime friend and ally gestured to the other opposite end of the table.

"Please sit Ted. We need to talk."

…

Four words.

Those four particular words never preceded a pleasant conversation, at least not in Ted's long line of experience.

The words alone would have done enough to leave him unsettled, more than he already was; but Rich's tone and the set of his face ratcheted the feeling up from an unpleasant ten to a rattling thirteen.

Ted worked his way to stand behind the chair fully opposite Rich but placed his hands atop the back board of the chair, slightly leaning down as he locked eyes with Occult.

"I think I'm fine standing Doc. What's the matter?"

"I insist that you sit Ted. What I have to say isn't pleasant, and to be quite frank with you I'd like this table between us while I say it."

…

Ted felt his gut churn, his temper stoking in his chest as he parsed the words over.

'This isn't good. What the hell does that even mean?!'

"Well? Get on with it." Ted said as he remained standing, Occults words having riveted him to the spot where he'd found himself standing.

A matter of uncomfortable moments passed, and the men held each other's gaze.

After a few more tense moments Occult gestured to the chair that Ted was still standing behind.

Ted raised himself up to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest as he set his jaw into a defiant line, a show that he wouldn't be acquiescing to the request.

'Especially not in my own god damn house.'

Ted kept his hard eyes locked with Occult's for a few moments longer before the man seemed to finally deflate and relent.

He watched as Occult drained the last of the steaming drink from his cup before moving it to the far corner of the table next to him, bringing his hands down to his lap where he folded them neatly.

"Jack's world is gone. He can't go home."

A torrent of emotion slammed into Ted with the strength of a moving car.

'Ah no.'

He felt horrible.

Had he jinxed it? Had his own preparations for the possibility of Jack being stuck-

'No. No. That's not how that works.' Ted thought to himself as he untucked his arms and began to massage his face.

Ted did his best to reign his emotions in as indignation, pain, and even sadly to say it pity filled him for his young ward.

'Jesus Christ. He's gonna be devastated.' Ted thought as all his memories of talking to the young man about his home filled his mind.

His family, the career he'd forged, his plans for the future…

'And now it's god damn dust in the wind. Ya know if you can hear me you son of a bitch, you're a real class act; taking stuff from good people like that.' Ted thought as he began to curse God for the misfortune that he now had to explain had happened to Jack.

After a few moments of thinking Ted could only let out a sad sigh while he turned his eyes upon Rich again.

"This is gonna kill him, you know that. Sigh. Jesus Christ. What did you find out right before we had to go deal with everything in Chong Mai? Or did you just find out today or something?"

"I knew the very day that I met him and proposed bringing him to you."

…

Ted found himself staring at Rich.

...

'He did not just say that.'

Ted brought his right pointer finger up to his ear and cleaned it for a moment as confusion and mounting outrage began to roil in his chest.

"I'm sorry, you wanna run that by me again?"

The trench coat wearing bastard had the audacity to sigh before he said it again.

"I knew his world was gone the very first time I went looking for it."

An uncomfortable moment passed.

"That's what I thought you said."

In the following moments the funny yet morbid thought passed over Teds mind that it wouldn't have mattered if he'd been sitting, because his dining room table would still have wound up overturned.

THE WATCHTOWER

June 10th, 2008. 1300(1:00 PM) EST

Wonder Woman's Pov:

Diana sat with her hands folded over each other on the stone table inside the currently locked conference room of the Watchtower.

The crisis in Chong Mai had been stopped, and the damage had been surprisingly minimal.

But the honest truth of the matter was that Captain Atom, and by extension the League; had little to do with averting the disaster.

Atom had been quick to submit a report for the League's files, and upon getting the chance to go over it; Batman had called Diana and Superman both for conference.

Said meeting had led to where they were now, the three of them, often referred to as 'The Trinity' or 'The Big Three; having been joined by Captain Atom and J'onn J'onzz.

"I don't see why we're here right now. All of the relevant information is in my report."

Diana did her best to remain slightly impassive, though Atom's clipped tone was out of place and rankled her a bit.

Diana thought to answer the man's implied question, but Batman beat her to it.

"Your report was… satisfactory. However, that doesn't change the fact that the resolution of the mission in Chong Mai has left us with an extensive list of questions. While normally satisfactory would be enough, it's not in this case."

As much as Diana hated to agree with Batman at times, he had once again cut straight to the heart of the matter.

One thing that Atom's report hadn't failed to mention was that General Wade Eiling had specifically requested Atom's assistance with dealing with the matter.

Outside of a few snippets however, there weren't many defining details.

The report mentioned that an engagement had occurred between Atom himself, a contingent of Chong Mai's local military forces, and what was listed as an 'unknown' quantity.

The vagueness of all of that was one of the main reasons they were now sitting here.

The other big item being Eiling's seeming casual involvement.

Batman with his own style of vague had mentioned that there may have been a specific reason as to Eiling involving himself with how those proceedings had gone down…

'But of course Batman didn't seem obliged to share either.' Diana thought with a slight bit of frustration.

J'onn was sitting on her right while Batman, Superman, and Atom had all elected to stand.

'I'm just glad that we're sitting at the bend, so that, if necessary, I can be up and out of this seat if needed.'

Atom had on more than one occasion outright stated that he didn't trust Batman, or care for his methods. And Diana remained unsure if violence could break out.

'The less said about that business with the masked killer in Gotham framing Batman the better.'

Diana was pulled out of her thoughts as Atom slightly raised his voice at Batman.

"I find myself wondering, who died and made you the Leader Here Batman? If the concerns over this aren't simply yours then I understand the inquiry but know this; while I may be a member of the League, I'm also still a Captain in the United States Air Force. When I'm told something is Classified, it's Classified. "

"That's not gonna cut it. We need to know exactly what happened, so that if there are variables that can be prevented; we can take the proper steps to mitigate them in the future. Surely you understand that Atom, as it falls within the simplest of the basic rules of engagement. Mitigating threats."

The retort and its tone had been cutting, and once again Diana found herself agreeing with Batman.

As unapproachable and uncompromising as he often was, which was the sole cause of the friction between himself and many of the other League members, Diana also had to acknowledge that behind herself Batman was the Leagues tactician.

She would be the one to lead the League if open warfare ever became a scenario that they found themselves embroiled in.

Whereas Batman was the Leagues general tactician, and he had earned that designation. He understood every arena that the League worked at, including the political one.

'And one misstep or missed detail here can lead to serious problems for us.'

Diana saw as Atom got ready to start having a war of words with Batman, before they were all spared such a thing due to Superman, cutting across both of them.

"Alright. Let's take a step back here. What Batman is saying Atom, in his own way, is that we understand your position. But just because we understand it, doesn't mean that we have to accept it. You're a part of the League Atom. But the League, this team, only functions well when proper communication and dissemination of information is in play. I understand you having direct contact with General Eiling. Your former and current ties to the military make following a traditional chain of command comfortable, and you do have your obligations; but don't forget that as you are a part of the League your chain of command has changed. When you act under the League's flag, for lack of a better term; you represent all of us. That's why we have a direct White House liaison. Any requests should have gone through that proper channel, regardless of the Emergency protocol lines that are in play. That's something that hasn't been addressed, as those lines existed before we had an actual liaison. The fact that things were done the way that they were? It leaves uncomfortable questions in the air about the chain of command being subverted, and it's something we'll have to look into handling."

Diana found herself chuckling internally at Superman's admittedly, long winded but effective speech.

He'd laid it on a bit thickly, clearly demonstrating that he was not a man for politics.

But where Superman had often said that he wasn't a man for politics or playing on words and showed clearly that he could at times get carried away with his skills as an orator; it was the tone that truly grabbed you when the man spoke.

Superman was a symbol.

When he spoke, people listened, because he had shown to be of the highest caliber when it came to his judgement and decision making.

Clark had described the voice he'd just used to her as his 'Homegrown Kansas Boy' routine.

Diana had witnessed it enough times to know for a fact that the earnestness in said tone would be hard to be angry with, even for someone of Atom's status and power.

Diana watched as the words had the exact desired effect on Atom, as the tightening around his eyes lifted, and his posture became less confrontational.

After a single deep breath and a few moments of quiet that everyone seemed more than willing to allow, Atom spoke again.

"Okay. Your right Superman, and I apologize. Transparency is needed for these things to progress smoothly." Atom said as he finally took a seat, Batman and Superman not taking long to follow suit.

Atom glanced at each of them before finally settling back a bit to fully tell of his mission to Chong Mai.

The full and disclosed news of just what had happened got a varying degree of reactions.

Batman as always was the hardest to read among her fellows, though Diana believed it child's play to predict Batman's next course of action.

Superman was clearly disturbed that someone who 'fought the good fight', had lost their life in the line of duty.

J'onn seemed more contemplative about the entire situation than anything.

And Diana herself…

Truth be told, a part of her heart broke at hearing the news.

Diana had fought in World War 2 with the 'All Star Squadron' or the 'Justice Society of America'; one of the other members obviously being Rex Tyler-Hourman.

A combination of the U.S government attempting to push for registration of the team's members, and a lot of personal strife between the members, had seen an end to the majority of what Diana had considered at the time to be lifelong friendships.

The wounds that were left over from the fracturing of those friendships had never really healed, and unfortunately Diana had never even gotten to meet Rex's son Richard.

'To hear that not only he is dead like his father, but to find out he was basically made a puppet by his government…'

Indignant and righteous anger filled her as she clenched her fists.

Diana understood that Richard had been employed…

'But if there is anyone that believes that any government that's here as a part of man's world, would simply allow someone to walk with an unchecked way of having that kind of power as an individual; they are a fool.' Diana thought as she remembered how aggressively the U.S government had fought to even get a meeting with Rex during WW2.

The All Star Squadron had obviously gone to war council meetings as a part of their efforts.

But hardly ever did a single member get pulled aside for private one on one meetings.

Rex Tyler, had been pulled aside though.

Many Times.

He had outright stated that threats had been made against his person, and his family. Threats that were meant to get him to hand over his Miraclo.

To Diana's knowledge Rex Tyler had never once buckled to any of the threats.

'Though I still believe that that was one of the key factors that led to him abusing the Miraclo in the first place. To ensure that the war ended favorably.' Diana briefly thought as she remembered the stress that all of the members of the Squadron were exposed to.

Diana brought her focus back up to her colleagues as Batman spoke out.

"Atom, would you be opposed to J'onn linking us up and showing us your memory of the event?"

Diana watched Atom's face as he seemed to consider Batman's request, while also doing her best to cast a sidelong glance at J'onn as well.

Diana knew for a fact that J'onn was not comfortable just outright using his telepathic abilities.

'He's often sited that even after gaining permission, it's easy to still find distrust being aimed at him. Not just during the fact, but afterwards.' Diana thought as she tried to properly split her focus.

J'onn was a very complex being.

Diana could honestly say that she enjoyed his company, more than most in the League if she were honest, and that because of it she hated to think that the request would result in any undue stress for her friend from another world.

'But of course, he doesn't think to ask the one that has to perform the service.' Diana thought of Batman, before turning and asking J'onn outright when it seemed that Batman wouldn't.

"J'onn. If Atom consents, would you mind terribly to helping us witness the events? Hearing about them is one thing, but as you know seeing is believing."

Diana held J'onn's gaze for a moment, his dark red eyes peering into hers before she noticed his typically straight mouth twitch up slightly at the right hand side.

She felt a gentle push against her psyche, something Diana had taken to calling a 'mental hug'.

J'onn would often give this to others when he was appreciative of something, and it warmed her that he appreciated her worrying about his position in all of this.

None among the League had ever outright said so, but J'onn had confided in her that he believed almost no one in the roster genuinely trusted him because of his powerful mental abilities; regardless of the promises he'd given out about how he used them.

After giving her that brief hug, J'onn spoke out.

"I will gladly facilitate it, so long as the good Captain gives consent."

Moments later the group stood huddled together watching from a grouped position as a representation of Atom went through his deployment.

The group watched as Atom got into his impromptu dog fight, as he traversed the land observing the scars that the Mech had made; and then they watched as Atom came upon All Might.

They watched as the young hero did his best to help the belligerent soldiers of Chong Mai.

And then they watched something that was surely impossible.

'Great Hera.'

Diana had grown up listening to the stories of the Old Heroes, and the very Gods of Olympus.

Diana had not only heard those stories, but she had been involved with and had also witnessed some truly amazing feats of heroism firsthand since she had first journeyed to man's world those many years ago.

But what she had just seen in the joint effort between Atom and the young hero All Might boggled her mind a bit.

'Even after having heard that Nth metal had the potential to allow him to absorb energy…that was…Incredible.'

Shortly after that there was nothing but blackness, and things didn't conclude until after Atom regained consciousness to continue building upon the experience.

Immediately after returning to the present outside of the memory, Batman proved her earlier internal mental predictions right.

"I have to go."

The man was up and out of his chair with a swiftness that was commendable, but Diana rose to her feet in response to it.

'If he thinks he's just going to have his way with this, then he's mistaken.

"Batman, wait. We need to discuss what comes next."

"All Might is a dangerous quantity. This was known even before the incident in Chong Mai. I can't in good conscience allow things to continue on this trend. If he wants to continue being a hero, he can do so in another city."

The reply was swift and cold, like the biting wind of a winter storm; but Diana found herself unfazed.

"As far as I can tell, Gotham needs all the help it can get. You would do well to leave the young one alone." Diana said, adding just a hint of steel to her tone.

Batman stared at her for a few moments, his countenance back to completely unreadable as his large cape concealed his body language.

"Would you care to elaborate on that?"

Diana took a moment to hold Batman's gaze, honestly weighing the merits of whether or not to turn what should have been a simple discussion into a fight.

'No. Perhaps not this time. Perhaps another approach.'

"You yourself have stated that your work with the League, while important, has placed a strain on your work in Gotham. You've also made it a point to make it clear that you don't allow Robin out on patrol without you, which you know is the only thing that I agree with about his apprenticeship under you. So what I am saying is quite simple. Gotham having All Might in it, Isn't a bad thing."

The council room held a tense atmosphere for a bit longer as Diana continued to hold Batman's gaze, unwilling to be cowed even slightly by Gotham's Dark Knight.

Diana had a lot of respect for Batman and all that he did…

'But when one is as abrasive as he is it makes his flaws all the more glaring, and sometimes the flaws outweigh the good.'

The standoff ended at Batman's discretion.

"Mm. I consider the verbal report and the showing of the memory enough evidence to show that Atom handled things as he did, with no malice intended. As such, meeting adjourned."

With a twirl and the billowing of his cape Batman was out of the conference room.

Diana brought her eyes over each of the others still present a few moments after Batman's departure.

Atom's voice drew her attention.

"Wait. Were you…were you all considering rescinding my membership?" Atom asked, just a hint of incredulousness creeping into his tone.

Diana was quick to assuage the atomic hero's worries.

"No. Again, the way that the comm's for the incident was handled was improper; and we will fix that so that there isn't a repeat of the issue. That's why we were here. More than likely however, Batman already had some inkling as to what happened, but wanted your confirmation."

Atom looked a touch frustrated.

"Well why the hell didn't he just say so, instead of trying to make it sound like I was being reprimanded for a behavioral problem?"

Superman let out a slightly gusting sigh that caught the other rooms occupant's attention.

"Because heaven forbid anything be done in a straightforward manner with him. He would see it as him owing you one if he simply asked outright and you answered. Batman doesn't 'Do' owing people. Take it from a source of experience." The man of Steel said with exasperation.

Diana watched as Atom shook his head a bit at Superman's words before speaking again.

"The man is difficult."

Diana had thought she'd had a hard time when she found herself agreeing with Batman.

'I believe Barry or Oliver would be saying-'Hello Mr. Pot! My name is Kettle!', or something to that effect if I'm remembering right?' Diana thought, as she began to reminisce over the times that Atom's rigidness put him at odds with another member of the League.

'Hera, give me strength.'

GOTHAM CITY – DIAMOND DISTRICT: THE BLINDING FACETS HOTEL

June 10th, 2008. 1300(1:00 PM) EST

Anatoli Knyazev Pov:

The black sedan pulled up close to the curb of the supposed four-star hotel, and Anatoli stepped out.

At thirty-two years of age Anatoli had maintained the physique that he'd gained working for 'The Hammer', the now as of defunct branch of the KGB.

Standing at 6'2 weighing in at 240 pounds, Anatoli knew that he cut an impressive figure.

His skin was light, and he lacked any of the pock marks that his father had had in abundance, and even though he'd been through many fights and skirmishes in his career he lacked any real scarring on his face; outside of the clear bridging of his nose from it having been broken a few times.

His light brown eyes took in the area around him as he walked forward now being flanked by a few of his fellows, other soldiers of fortune that he had taken under his wing when he'd left service.

His dark brown three-piece suit framed his muscular body nicely, and his medium length brown hair was slicked back, a dark five o'clock shadow adorning his face.

Anatoli entered the hotel at a brisk pace, and he did his best to quickly be done with any and all pleasantries so that he could be checked in as fast as possible.

After finding his way to the thirteenth floor and getting him and his men into their rooms, Anatoli took a shower before changing into his standard tactical dress.

A long sleeve black turtleneck hid his black tank top, and underneath the tank top sat his grade three ballistic jacket. Black cargo pants, a black Para cord belt, and black steel tip boots completed the ensemble.

Opening his large black leather traveling bag, Anatoli pulled out a medium sized black tablet, and turned it on.

After booting it up, Anatoli turned on the special encrypted communication app that he'd had installed by a comm's specialist when he'd last been in Nepal that would allow him to register his taking of contracts.

Right as the app kicked on, he received a message from his benefactor.

"Are you in the city?"

Anatoli did his best not to roll his eyes as he typed out his response.

"Yes. My men have been here, and I'm going to check in with them. Any and all data that they may have will be transferred over to you as soon as I have it. From there we will continue until you deem the job finished."

A moment went by and then the small icon moved showing that his benefactor was typing again.

"Good. I'm sending you an advance. If you are able to force a confrontation, all the better. But remember, this is an intelligence gathering mission. Leave him alive. Even if he proves to not be worth your time. Keep me posted. Happy Hunting."

Anatoli sighed while shaking his head as he closed his connection to the app, pulling his smartphone out.

After two rings his main Lieutenant, Yuri Novikov answered.

"Da?"

"Yuri. What is our status?"

"We have three dozen boots on the ground, including the five men that just came with you."

Anatoli nodded his head slightly as he slipped a pair of combat knives onto his belt before putting his three quarter length leather jacket on.

"Good. What of Anya?"

The hesitation was brief, but it was there, and it inflamed his temper.

"Yuri, where is she?"

"She hasn't left Rio yet sir. She claimed that she wasn't finished."

'Chertova Suka.' Anatoli thought.

"Yuri get the men together; tell them I want to do an inspection. I'll be to you in twenty minutes. I'll deal with Anya myself. If the little Suka calls you, ignore her."

"Yes sir."

Hanging up on Yuri, Anatoli immediately dialed Anya.

'I don't give a fuck about time zones…' Anatoli thought as he waited for her to answer.

The line opened on the fifth ring.

"Da?"

"What the Fuck do you think you are playing at you little whore?"

"I'm not finished with my work otets, I- "

"Shut up. When I tell you to come, you come. That's all there is. Do you understand me?"

"…Da otets."

Anatoli did his best not to give into the anger simmering beneath his skin at her defiance.

'I would have been better served by a son.' Anatoli thought as he pressed on.

"Get Left and Right and whoever else you can pull together and get to Gotham. Now."

"Don't call my- "

"Chto chert voz'mi ya tol'ko chto skazal?!" (What the fuck did I just say?)

Anatoli waited a moment as the line stayed quiet.

"Yes sir."

"Good."

Anatoli disconnected the call before rubbing his eyes slightly.

He had enough to deal with without having to ensure his wayward daughters' good behavior.

Anya and her little ragtag group could come and cause some chaos after finding and sizing up a proper target, and in the meantime he and his men could do what they did best.

'Time to see how truly mighty this All Might is.'

Welp. Here we are again. All I can do is apologize for the lull in chapters. Life is...Life. I had a lot going on, and honestly still do. I'm doing what I can to manage the stress and make time for myself and my passions. So, on to a look at the story. We're pressing forward quickly with the end of the conflict in Chong Mai. There's going to continue to be ripples because of that for a while, and I hope that what comes of it is something ya'll wind up enjoying. The timeline was met, and Anatoli Knyazev-KG Beast has now entered the story. He will be a bit of a fixture for some time. I appreciate a few of you taking the chance to throw guesses as who Beast was with the vague chat that was held between him and his benefactor. Another point to look at, I DO NOT speak Russian and have to rely on Google translation from English to Russian; so please don't hate me if it isn't correct. As I'm writing this I've lost my train of thought, so I'll wrap up with this. Chap 25 and 26 are both linked to the same day, just for a few other POV's that I feel need to be covered. I hope that you guys are looking forward to them. The most obvious thing to notice is that Jackson's POV will be next chapter. We'll see how That all shakes out, won't we? As always, a Huge thanks to my Friends Sauron and Wolfling for looking at the story before I post. I can't call them Beta readers, but they may as well be for all the help their input gives. I hope that all of you had a fantastic set of holidays. I hope that the New Year has kicked off well for everyone, and that it continues to do so; or turns around if things Are going tough atm. Until next time everyone! Laters Gators!