The Clocktower

Babs was sitting having a cup of coffee with Helena after another long and tiresome day as Oracle, effectively leading the Batman Family in Bruce's absence. At the moment, she was asking the Huntress what she knew about cloaking technology. "Well, my guess is they're getting it from Wayne Enterprises. Which is impossible because that place is locked up tight." "Yeah, we kinda' figured that out already," Babs said, placing her coffee down and a pen in her mouth pensively, observing her computer screens, "With Bruce and Lucius out of the picture, Earle's probably selling arms to the highest bidder…" "Or he's in on this whole scheme of Nygma's," Helena raised her eyebrow. Babs bit her lip anxiously wondering what she and everyone else had gotten themselves into and blaming herself unduly. Inside, Dick was watching the news with Steph, Damian and Cass. It was late and with the midnight movie over, they had decided GCN was for the best to wind down before heading to sleep. Alfred was also watching but compulsively dusting at the same time, to Dick's chagrin. "Master Richard, please. I cannot ignore your lampshades any longer. They are practically begging me to clean them." "Oh, Al," Dick laughed, "Will you ever change?"

"Breaking News! It appears an incident has occurred at Titans Tower in San Francisco, as the city experienced a blackout little over an hour ago. We bring you live to Marvin Wolfman reporting on the scene. Marv?" the newsreader said anxiously before transferring to a red-haired man who reminded Dick a lot of Donna's late ex-husband. Behind him, the Titans Tower was in ruins. Every single one of the four people in the room felt their hearts enter their mouths in fear. "Yes, Bob, we're coming to you live from San Francisco where shortly after a massive power cut, locals witnessed Titans Tower under attack. Now, reports say that shortly after this a superhero fitting the description of Power Girl flew into the building at a phenomenal speed. No one could tell what was happening except for flashes and loud bangs coming from the tower. A yellow and red blur believed to be Kid Flash was spotted running away from the area, only to be intercepted by a larger, much more golden blur. Both seemed to dance around for a minute before colliding into the tower, causing it to begin its collapse. Not long after that, the tower suddenly exploded from the inside in a giant burst of red light before it could collapse. Examining the ruins, the bodies of four have been identified. The hero known as Cyborg, civilian identity Victor Stone was located initially and taken immediately to S.T.A.R. Labs for repair, it is believed he may survive the incident. The professional magician, Zachary Zatara was found with a bullet lodged in his forehead, and he is believed to have been killed instantly. The third was found at the base of the explosion and has been identified as Hunter Zolomon, formerly the super criminal known as Zoom, who escaped from Iron Heights three months ago. He is currently the leading suspect for the destruction of the JLA Watchtower and by extension the murder of the heroes the Flash and Red Tornado. His body was found underneath piles of rubble, and he is believed to have been killed by the explosion as Kid Flash's body was not found with his. And fourthly, the body of Power Girl herself was identified by her costume and build. The woman's head was found to have exploded or been blown off somehow. A fifth body was also found with a crossbow bolt through his neck, though that was immediately taken in by the DEO before identification could be made. According to eyewitness accounts, the heroes seen entering the tower unaccounted for include Bombshell, Kid Flash, Impulse, Velocity, Wonder Girl, Ravager, Speedy, Superboy, Supergirl, Raven and Beast Boy. We would ask that if anyone can provide any information as to the whereabouts and/or wellbeing of these heroes they immediately contact the DEO. Contact details provided below. Is this the beginning of a heroic civil war as Power Girl murders the Teen Titans? Or is it another tragic case of villainous manipulation of the righteous? For GCN, I'm Marvin Wolfman."

Damian couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had grumbled at Dick for not being able to go to Titans Tower the past few weekends to help out in Gotham with the current crisis. He had actually begun to like it there, having made friendships with Ravager and Impulse, and feeling like had had gained a big sister in Wonder Girl no more than he had with Batgirl. Though he would never tell either of them that. They were just dead. He then noticed that Steph was crying with Dick putting his hand on her shoulder and Cass holding her hand. "Oh God, I hope Kara's okay," she managed through her tears, "At the wedding, I told her 'smell you later'…" "You say that to all of us, Steph," Dick pointed out slightly humorously even though he too was evidently distressed. "Yeah, but I don't expect to never see you again when I say it," she wept, "Oh no. Kara, I'm so sorry!" Dick held her close to him as the tears came and then looked at Damian with the deepest sense of sorrow as if to say, 'I know you may not have liked them, but I'm sorry all the same." Grayson. What did he know? Still, he was a good partner.

Babs and Helena came out as Cass let a tear slip from her normally stoic demeanour as she thought of Superboy and the bond they had had years ago. She whispered into her hands a strong hope that he was not gone, but felt in her heart it couldn't be so. Cissie rushed in from patrol, to see were the reports she heard on the radio true. Upon the realisation of her friends' fate, she screamed while Cass held her, "No! Cassie, Bart, Kon! Noooo!" Dick was crying now too as he remembered all he had done to help Rose get away from her father, and realising her probable fate. Not to mention Kara was like a kid sister to him when they were on the JLA and had harboured a huge crush on him for years before. Then of course, Gar, Rachel and Vic were all old comrades of his, and very dear to him. Not to mention, Wally had just died, and now it was very possible his children had followed him in a few short months. Damian felt slightly embarrassed as he heard the adult who he looked up to even more than his father wail like an infant. Not embarrassed because Dick was crying per se, but because he himself wasn't showing any emotion. Babs wheeled behind the couch and wrapped her arms around her husband as Helena put her hand on her breast, closed her eyes and whispered something in Latin. Cass stalked away from them all as Steph, composing herself grabbed Damian by the hand and brought him into the kitchen. Upon sitting the boy down, she went immediately to the fridge and made a massive ice cream sundae for him.

"Why are you doing this, Stephanie?"

"Because…they were your friends. Just like Kara was mine. I wanted to show you I was sorry."

"Don't be. They died…heroes' deaths."

"So have a lot of people. Doesn't make them going…any easier."

"It is useless to mourn them. I will merely remember them when I fight villains like that Zolomon fellow. Horrible creatures who harm the good."

"Yeah, but…Damian you were going there every weekend. And they're probably all gone. You were the same age as those two kids of Wally's. This can't be easy."

"I do not enjoy their passing, Stephanie, but I do not see the point in blubbering. It won't help them come back by having saline liquid fall from my eyes."

"It's not for their sake you should cry, Damian. It's for yourself. You can't just bottle your emotions up like this."

"I…I am not. My emotions were largely indifferent."

"Damian."

"Yes."

"Your left eye constantly twitches when you lie. And your eyes are really red. Do you want a patented Batgirl hug?"

"I have no interest in embr—Yes!"

The young boy fell into Steph's arms as she walked over to his side of the table and held him so tightly to her. Kissing him on the head, she said "It's a messed-up world, kid. We have to cry at it sometimes if we wanna' feel better later on." Dick walked in then and smiled a little through his tears, seeing that Steph was being there for Damian when he couldn't be, like she had many times before. "Uh, I just got off the phone with Linda," he said, the relief apparent in his voice and on his face, "The kids are alright. They say they don't know what happened but Bart was attacked by Zoom getting them out. Barry's gone with Don and Dawn to stake out the tower and see if they can find anything. It doesn't look good for Bart and the others though. You hear that though, Damian? Jai and Irey are okay." The boy was still crying too much for Steph to let him go. "Just give him another few minutes, Dick. Please." Nightwing nodded and headed out into the sitting room with the others. Babs grabbed his hand to remind him he still had family as he began crying again for Kara, Gar and Rachel, but also with a twinge of joy that Wally's kids were alright.

"We now go live to Washington D.C., where personal pastor of the President, Eddie Thawne is making a speech from the Washington Monument!" The Washington Monument surrounded by torches reappeared on the television screens, as the preacher, looking more youthful than the last time he had appeared on the news addressed the podium. His hair was cleaner and his beard more trimmed. The handsome features Eddie Thawne had been noted for in college were very apparent in this less bedraggled version of the man. "Friends, this is a solemn hour for all who love the righteous in this country. Titans Tower has been attacked and it is believed, with only three people confirmed alive as of this time from the attack, that many of our fellows have been killed. It was done by…dare I say it…another hero. Power Girl. Reports tell me she is a version of our own Supergirl from a universe which no longer exists. The Lord has not seen fit to educate me on the departed universes, so the President has not been able to learn from me on the matter of her origins. The DEO has also informed us of the presence of Red Kryptonite at the area and paraphernalia denoting Amazon and Atlantean war gear. The rogue nations would have access to such contraband as Red K, and therefore they have turned Power Girl against her own comrades!" Dick Grayson couldn't contain his rage.

"That's bullshit! Everyone knows Kryptonite can't affect Karen. Only red sun energy and magic!"

"The DEO are as perplexed by this as I am, but we believed that the pagan sorcerers of Paradise Island and Atlantis have entered into a pact to enchant Red Kryptonite so it becomes some kind of multiversal contaminant. This attack has resulted in the death of too many fine young people. Though we cannot confirm the deaths of the others, the worst can only be assumed as none of them have been accounted for. I will consult with the Lord this evening to determine the true nature of events, though all evidence points towards our government's theory. The President will speak on this at a press conference during the waking hours. For now, know that emergency services in California are working round the clock to find them. Let us pray for the souls of these teenagers, my children."

Dick's veins were popping out of his forehead after that speech. "Well, that tears it," he announced indignantly, "Bruce was right. Thawne was behind this attack, just like he is all the crap we're dealing with here. There's no way Hippolyta or Arthur would attack the Teen Titans." "But what if it was Ocean Master?" Babs queried her husband. "Even so, he'd prefer something more over the top than that," Dick dismissed her claims, "They're warrior cultures. They wouldn't resort to terrorism to attack us. Not to mention, I've never heard of anyone being able to enchant Kryptonite. That asshole's behind it, Babs, I'm telling you. It's no coincidence no bomb's gone off tonight here in Gotham. He was just executing another stage of his plan by killing our friends!" "Suppose you're right," Cass said with a hollow tone despite Dick being visibly upset, "but we have no proof. Jai and Irey saw only Zoom, and they're blaming the attack on him. We can't prove who attacked them." "No, but maybe Tim can," Dick tried to reassure his family, "We've got to have faith in his mission."

Old Gotham

Meditation during the early hours of the morning was helping Tim Drake obtain microsleeps since Ra's wouldn't allow him to drink coffee anymore. Craning his neck in a rotating angle, Tim dreamt of the wedding and seeing his friends again. How it made him feel himself for the first time in months. He smiled as he remembered hearing one of Bart's goofy jokes for the first time in years. Then he thought of getting to be with Steph that night, and feeling loved again, not just like with Dick and Babs wanting him to be best man, but romantically. Then he thought of having abandoned his family and his lover the next morning without so much as a by your leave and how he hurt himself. Because he deserved it. Tim clenched his teeth like a horse biting on a bridle and subconsciously moved his already lacerated arm towards a nearby naked flame. He flinched upon feeling the burn but felt a small sense of satisfaction at punishing himself. All the logic centres of his brain told him that was wrong, but it was almost like he could feel a rush of endorphins again.

"Ibn al Xuffasch," a deep, throaty voice with a distinctly Levantine Arab accent said to him from the corridor behind him. Tim had earned the title 'Son of the Bat' for how he had successfully completed all of Ra's' trials by this stage. "What is it, Ubu?" he asked, not taking his eye from the burn on his arm. "The Demon's Head requests your presence immediately," was the solemn yet quick reply, "He says he has urgent news you will find most enlightening." "Tell him I will be there momentarily," Tim said, feigning disinterest. Ubu saluted before arguing, knowing that the Son of the Bat could trounce him easily if he tried to force him. Tim moved towards a nearby robe and some moisturiser he had secreted out of Steph's hotel room. Applying it to his arm, he managed to cover up the scars on his upper wrist slightly. Wrapping the green robe over himself, Tim began walking out of the corridor towards Ra's' inner sanctum. Ra's was looking at a giant tv screen which held something Tim found extremely anxiety inducing. The image of a destroyed Titans Tower in the San Francisco Bay.

"Do you see it, Detective?" the immortal asked his budding apprentice with some satisfaction, "Your former comrades have been eliminated by our allies in Washington. What is that I see? Do I detect a flicker of sorrow? Of grief?" Ra's was merely playing with Tim whose face was as cold as stone. He was upset, of course, but he couldn't show that to the Demon's Head. Especially about those whom he had basically renounced to join the League. He thought of Cassie and Conner being dead and buried somehow because of some apocalyptic threat they couldn't handle. He thought of Bart being eviscerated and Rose being shot in the head. His stomach turned into knots as Tim Drake realised, he had just lost some of the people he loved. "I feel nothing, my lord," he lied convincingly, "Only mild curiosity at the fact that you have not mentioned the allies responsible for this act prior to this." "Ah, yes," Ra's began, trying to hide his disappointment that Tim had maintained his veneer of apathy, "Father Thawne and the Church of Rao. They need our help in pacifying the world and since he and I have similar aims…I dropped a name to him who I knew would eliminate these targets with extreme prejudice. That name being of course, Slade Wilson. Deathstroke the Terminator. You have had dealings with the assassin before, I presume?"

"I have. A most wise choice, my lord. Though he has failed in the past when dealing with this team despite some near infallible strategies at his command."

"True. But this time we provided him with a means of limitless power. We gave him the ability to incapacitate and mind-control a Kryptonian. Specifically, Power Girl. With her death there is no Kryptonian we cannot handle without simple Kryptonite. Come now, Detective. Aren't you going to ask as to the welfare of your friends? Superboy? Kid Flash? Wonder Girl?"

"I merely assumed that Deathstroke had slain them all."

"Whilst Thawne reports he has not yet returned to base, I believe his targets to be dead since no sign of them has yet appeared. But do you not feel sorrow. They were old…friends of yours, were they not?"

"Friends mean nothing compared to the cause of the League. I am actually annoyed you did not give me the pleasure of eliminating them. I know them well, you see. They are foolish. They would not have listened to reason. I had prepared myself for having to kill those I once loved to save the world for the Demon's Head."

"Beautiful, Detective. Simply beautiful. Katherine Hepburn herself would be jealous."

"I am no mummer, Demon's Head. I do not lie."

"You lied to your own father for years about being a vigilante."

"And now he is dead. That is precisely why I am no longer in the habit of lying, except for the greater good."

"And what is the greater good to you, Timothy Drake?"

"The greater good is the cause of the League. To purge the Earth of those who would spoil it. The majority of humanity. And to have the Demon's Head stand over the remainder as their benevolent, all-loving and immortal ruler."

"This is not a religion, Timothy. We do not have you recite creeds verbatim. Action is demonstrated through loyalty over words in the League of Assassins, and you have yet to take a life for me."

"Not a religion? You could have fooled me."

"Do not interrupt me, boy. I have one life I want you to take as soon as we attack Gotham. I think you will enjoy taking him as your first blood."

"And who would that be?"

"Robin. My grandson. Your 'brother'. Damian Wayne."

Metropolis

Lois Lane held her husband and mother-in-law's hands as tight as a vice when they realised Conner and Kara were missing presumed dead. Clark was merely staring at the television with his mouth wide open while his mother was crying, knowing she had lost Conner again. "He's still so young, Lois," Ma shuddered through her tears, "And those poor children with him." "They haven't said Conner's dead, Martha," Lois reassured her, rubbing her arm affectionately, "Just Zatara, Cyborg and…" "Power Girl," Clark uttered out loud in such a quiet way that it seemed as if he was only registering her death. Hers and probably Kara's. Both of them. He had tried to be family to Karen after she realised who she was, and saw her cousin, his alternate self, die saving the universe at the same time Conner did. He wanted to help fill that hole in her life. Now she was dead too. From what the television was saying was some sort of enchantment of Red Kryptonite. That couldn't be right. But it felt right when Thawne said it. Right that they should fight Themyscira and Atlantis. But did it really?

"Honey, do you need a minute?" Lois said as she held his mother close to her and winked at him as if to say maybe Clark should leave their home for a while and head to the Fortress of Solitude. Clark could read her so well. But he didn't feel like doing that, he thought maybe it would be best if he just went flying into the sky for a minute and look down on his city. And that's what he did. He left his mother and wife who were no doubt grieving as deeply as he was and was by himself for a while. He did take his wife's advice after a fashion and went to the Fortress however. That beautiful citadel of diamonds rising out from the Arctic snows. The place he needed to be. He went to the main computer, lacking a personality as it did, he wasn't in the mood for Kelex right now. "Computer. Scan for Kryptonian life signs outside of this fortress." "Scanning. Two found." Clark nearly cried, thinking that Kara and Kon were alive out there, and he didn't need to blame himself for not just tuning into Titans Tower the night before. "Location?" "Metropolis. Home of Lois Lane and Clark Kent." Had they come home already? Then Clark's face fell, as he saw it was merely a registering of the twins inside Lois, and not his cousin and clone alive and well. Sinking to his knees, Clark looked up into the sky. He should really fly up, up and away. Try to find Krypton again. Find the planet's remains and just sit there waiting to die. Still, what was the point of that?

"My son, why do you despair?" Clark heard the voice of his long dead father, Jor-El say to him, though he couldn't remember activating the recording. "Nothing, father," he replied through his sorrow, seemingly unphased, "I came here to be alone." Jor-El's form came to stand beside his son, and offer him a hand up from his knees. "I will not sit here and allow you to weep needlessly," the ghost said, "You are a son of the House of El, and dead or not, I am your father. I would like to know what has befallen my son." Clark stood up, and struggled to let the next few words out. "It's...it's Kara...Kara and Kon are dead…both Karas." "So, my niece from the rogue universe finally went rogue," Jor-El raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Do you know the cause?"

"They're saying Red Kryptonite."

"Nonsense. Kryptonite from this universe cannot affect her…"

"They said it was enchanted."

"Kal-El, I am an avatar of your computer as well as your father. My knowledge of all the magicks on this planet suggest that is not possible."

"Well then…maybe she was enchanted."

"No, Kal-El. Think bigger. Think of the Black Mercy particles…"

"Black Mercy particles? How do you—"

"I am your computer remember."

"Fine. But, how could they?"

"They made her hallucinate, no more than they are making you think irrationally. She attacked the Teen Titans and was killed for her troubles because she was insane and a threat to all of them. I imagine that inexperienced magician cast a spell which caused her head to explode without realising it would kill everyone there as well."

"Computers normally aren't good at imagining."

"Yes, but I am also based on your father's personality, Kal-El. And I know that our kind when subjected to hallucinogens are dangerous to those without our abilities. You could end up being that danger in the current environment."

"J'onn says the Black Mercy particles are nearly all gone thanks to S.T.A.R. Labs."

"Think for a moment, boy! This is a mind parasite! It could easily have corrupted all of your perceptions."

"75% of the spores were in Gotham…there's no way."

"Yes, and you have been in Gotham since they were dispersed."

"So, what you're saying is none of us can be sure about anything to do with reality."

"Virtually anything."

"Then what's the point in even being? If I'm such a danger why be out there."

"Kal-El…I fear for the harm you will do to the people of this world in such a befuddled state as Kara Zor-L did. Her attack claimed the lives of two other Kryptonians. It may be best if you remain in the Fortress for the foreseeable future."

"No! You're talking rot, father!"

"No, I am not. I am merely advising my only son on the precautions he should take to protect those he loves! As well as those he would hate himself to harm! You are not a bad man, Kal-El. And neither was Kara Zor-L a bad woman. But she killed your cousin and your child as well as many other teenagers, likely because of how the Black Mercy spores have affected her. Do you want to risk murdering your wife and unborn children in a similar fashion?"

"Of course not!"

"Then remain here!"

"I can't!"

"And why is that?!"

"Because that's not why you sent me here. You sent me here so that the last son of our world, your only son, could set an example to the people of this primitive world. To be a teacher, a leader, a guide and above all, a hero, to them. I'm not letting you down, father!"

"You would not be letting me down by being cautious! Please…for the children!"

"I can't. I'm sorry, father."

"Before you leave, just tell me one thing. Do you think I have a point?"

"Your theory seems very sound, father. I will try and be careful. Think twice if I have to."

"One more thing, and this is important, Kal-El. I need to know. Are you…afraid?"

"Afraid? Very much. But that isn't going to stop Superman."

"Very well." As Superman flew back to Metropolis to be with his wife and mother, Jor-El vanished almost as soon as his son's back was turned. The computer had never activated the Jor-El avatar to speak with his son. Instead, a gas was creeping into the Fortress from an unknown intruder. The intruder was wearing a gas mask. Speeding back to Washington after corking the gas, Eddie Thawne laughed to himself knowing he had the Last Son of Krypton right where he wanted him. Afraid of himself.

DEO, Washington DC

"You call that a job well done, Slade?" Thawne shouted in the face of an unmasked Deathstroke who was cradling his broken right arm, "I told you to capture the non-Kryptonians, specifically Kid Flash and the twins, didn't I? Now two of them escaped, and one's missing presumed dead." "You promised me my son would be alive again!" Slade spat through gritted teeth. "We did," Simon Hurt said from the corner of the room with a malicious glint in his teeth and eyes as ever. They were all discussing this in Amanda Waller's office, which she had vacated in order for the VP and the presidential pastor to berate their assassin. "And he died in the line of duty," Hurt continued, "The way we see it, he's insurance. You owe us a year of service for this stunt. What if those twins had seen you? Folks at the DEO might get a little suspicious that just after you've been here Titans Tower is destroyed." Deathstroke scoffed arrogantly at that. "You both should know your sheep will believe anything. And besides, Waller is perfectly reliable—"

"We're not talking about Waller," Hurt reprimanded his client, "The sheep you're so very fond of dismissing aren't all docile, especially not ones in the halls of power. We're talking about those blue-collar idiots who are still afraid we're going to start putting them in re-education camps if they put a toe out of line. They see we're assassinating heroes, and they'll hightail it to the press, or to Canada to be safe. Then you get propaganda about how awful our country is. Soon, things start to fall apart. We can't afford to look bad until Operation: New Babylon is complete. We hired you to be discreet, Slade. You hear me? We hired you not to screw it up. And what did you do? Screw it up. You want to see your son again then you're going to need to work a lot harder."

"But he was already—"

"And now he's dead again. Eddie here can't just bring him back out of the blue without using a lot of energy. It weakens him, and it'll mean some poor innocent dies again because of us. We may be megalomaniacs, but we're not completely heartless, Slade. Besides, the Daily Planet ran an article suggesting these sudden deaths around the world might be linked to Thawne's faith healing the other day. We need to skimp on the resurrections."

"That's not what we wanted to hear," Don Allen said as he sped into the office, fuming with incandescent rage, "What's the game here, Eddie? Why did you let that clown, Deathstroke, kill my boy?" Don then grabbed Slade by the throat as the assassin laughed. "I shot your boy in the gut, Flash," he chuckled, "He's been an annoying one for so long now. And he was trying to kill me. Fair is fair." "Eddie, you bring my boy back now," Don said, his face shaking as he kept staring with bloodlust at the Terminator, "Or I swear to God I will kill this joke of a hitman without a second's thought." "We can't," Eddie said with the utmost sincerity. Hurt looked stunned. "Why not?" he asked, "I know it's inconvenient to keep bringing people back like I just said, but we can afford to bring back one Titan."

"Oh, thanks. You're giving him his son, but mine keeps rotting."

"We still need him, Slade. And he hasn't screwed up yet."

"Well, Eddie," Don asked the preacher behind him, "Why won't you do it?" "It's not that I won't do it, my boy," Eddie said with the warmth of a father figure to the former Tornado Twin, "It's that I can't. When I heard you coming, I reached into the aether to revive him. He's alive."

"He's what?"

"He's alive. And you better hope to God he's got amnesia, Slade, or you certainly won't be."

"Fine. But I got you guys Cyborg. You wanted him, right?"

"Yes. And for that you're still getting paid," Hurt consoled him, "but only half because you've been so clumsy. You're on probation for the time being, Deathstroke." "I've been on probation my whole life, asswipe," Slade with a little laughter to the Vice-President as Don Allen released him. "You didn't kill Bart," Don said seethingly, "but you still hurt him. Enough that you might have killed him." Don then punched Slade in the face and knocked him out. "He certainly isn't living up to his reputation." "He was injured," Thawne shrugged, "The way he tells it one seventeen-year-old girl ambushed him with the force of ten thousand megatons. I read his mind. She kneed him in the balls." Even Hurt had to start laughing at that as Don began snorting.

"Anyway, Eddie," Don asked putting his hand on his 'cousin' as if they'd known one another for years, "What's the deal with this Cyborg kid? Why's he so important?" "Father Thawne wants him to be part of your team…Flash," Hurt said with that devilish smile and white glint in his eyes that made even Don think he might be Satan, "But he's not going to follow us…unless you re-programme him." "Calculator's working on it now," Thawne said to his 'cousin' with a smile, "but we want him to be a bit more advanced for our team. Give him the technology to handle threats we can't. Show Don the Shilo Norman file, Simon." Hurt rooted in a drawer to find a folder. Handing it to Don, he gave the new Flash a picture of a fluorescent box with blue lining all over it.

"Nice touch. I would have never thought to fit a living being with a Mother Box."

The Waverider

Zatanna Zatara hadn't taken the news from Cassie Sandsmark of her cousin's death too well. Right now, she was sitting in her quarters crying about what a fool Zachary could be, but knowing he was her cousin and remembering the good things he had done. She had expected Dinah or Bruce or someone to take care of her, but the former was busy with Mia Dearden in helping her recover and the latter with interviewing Wonder Girl and Ravager about the attack on Titans Tower. Wanting some comfort from old friends felt like it was a given to a former member of the Justice League. She had expected better than her ex-boyfriend, John Constantine to walk in drunk and sit beside her reeking of whisky.

"I'm sorry about your cousin, darling. If it's any consolation I did open this eighteenth century scotch just for him. Want a drink?"

"Oh, fuck off, John. I'm really not in the mood."

"Yeah, I get that. Rip says we need to get to Titans Tower and you hope he's alright. Turns out he was shot right in the head as the nice little blonde one tells it."

"John, she's seventeen."

"So was I when I copped off with me teacher."

"Why do you have to be such a pig? She's not an object."

"I never said she was."

"Yeah well, her name's Cassie. Not 'the nice little blonde one'. Call her by her name or call her Wonder Girl. Just don't talk about her like that. She's a hero."

"I'm sure she is, darling. But I'm not."

"You say that, John and yet here you are."

"A chance to enjoy future booze, that's all."

"Hey, John," Oliver Queen said as he walked into the room to look after his grieving friend, "How about you get the Hell out of here and let me handle Zatanna? Go get pissed somewhere else. Rusch's still at the bar wondering where you got to." "I'll be there in a minute," Constantine said, making a facial expression towards the sullen witch to indicate Ollie was interfering with him scoring, "I'm just chatting up Zat. I don't think she's copped on." Ollie then loosed an arrow. "John, fuck off or it's your cock off." "Alright, I'm going. I'm going," he grumbled as he made his way out with his bottle of scotch, "Bloody Yanks and their feelings! Rusch better have me fags!" Once Constantine was gone, Ollie just hugged Zatanna for half an hour. Neither of them talking, just one old friend letting another grieve while he tried to understand her pain.

In the meeting room of the Waverider, Bruce Wayne sat across from Cassie Sandsmark and Rose Wilson, with the former having a sling on her right arm and the other fatigued from painkillers. "So, why on Earth did Slade Wilson attack the Tower?," he asked, "With Power Girl and…his son, of all people." "He said he was doing it for Thawne," Cassie put it bluntly to the Batman, who she found tiresome, as Diana did when he'd enter full interrogation mode, she seemed a little disinterested in proceedings as she continued, not making eye contact, "Turns out you were right and Superman was wrong. He's evil." She turned her gaze to meet his eyes now, and sarcastically added, "You must be thrilled?" "I'm never happy being right, Cassandra, because I usually assume the worst," Bruce responded with further bluntness.

"Anyway," Wonder Girl continued after a half hearted roll of her eyes, "We were all just sitting and talking of a Saturday night. Things got a bit heated between Kon and Gar about whether you or Supes were right about Thawne. Then Cyborg malfunctioned…we didn't know why until he started talking. The Calculator had taken hold of him. He incapacitated Zatara, then moved on to the rest of us when Power Girl flew in and did that for him. Bombshell died saving Kara's life. Took the full force of Kryptonian heat vision. And I mean, the full force. Bart was getting the twins out of dodge when Zoom ambushed him. I had sent Rose and Conner up to the roof to sound the alarm." She nodded towards Ravager who seemed to be a little more engaged in proceedings.

"Yeah, and we were ambushed by my dad and my brother. Dad said something about working for Thawne to kill the Kryptonians because he gave him Grant back or some shit. Then he shot Kon with a gun containing…I think he called it red sun energy."

"Red sun energy?" Batman stroked his chin as he wracked his brains, "I'd heard word that Checkmate and the DEO were working on funnelling the energy of the red sun into some kind of projectile weapon against Kryptonians…clearly their efforts got further than we realised. That must be how Deathstroke got close enough to Karen to mind control her. He was always good at hiding himself, even from someone with hyper senses like a Kryptonian, but to get close enough to consume her mind…near impossible. Even I couldn't do that. He must have shot her with the gun, just enough to immobilise her for a short while."

"He mentioned not having many bullets didn't he, Cassie?"

"Yeah. But said four would be enough to kill a Kryptonian and three would make them critical."

"And he shot both Superboy and Supergirl with three."

"Four for Kon. Dad grazed him with one."

"Which would explain why his heart rate's not as good as Kara's. What happened next?"

"Dad monologued a bit before shooting Kon like I said. I used a grenade to get him to fall a few stories. Then Grant knocked me out for a bit. Cassie can tell you the rest."

"Kon crashed on top of Power Girl," Wonder Girl continued, still hiding as much emotion as she could, but now with her hands on the desk and looking Bruce in the eye, "Almost like he meant to save Kara's life. Then Grant and Slade came down with Rose and Grant asked which of us was a magician. Zachary told him he was. And he just took out his gun and shot him in the fucking head like it was nothing. That maniac killed my friend right in front of me. Point blank. No mercy. I'm glad you took the bastard out, Rose."

"Killing should not be celebrated, Cassandra."

"I know that, Bruce, but still. Him being alive isn't exactly cause for celebration either. Slade shot Kara and Kon a few more times and then dealt with the rest of us. The building shook a bit before he could kill Superboy. It was Kid Flash and Zoom. The foundations were breaking then. Bart tried to stop Slade then but he…shot him in the gut. Grant was going to kill Mia, maybe even rape her, when Rose fired that crossbow bolt through his neck."

"I realise you did it with good reason, Rose. But I don't approve. I can't approve."

"And I don't and can't pretend to care about your opinion, Bats," the Ravager responded with her characteristically defiant scorn, "I saved my friend's life. I think that means something."

"Anyway," Cassie interrupted, not wishing for a pointless argument, "Slade was going to kill Rose, but I got the jump on him. He broke my arm and was about to finish me off when I…this is going to sound really, really dumb. I moved my knee up into his groin, then roundhouse kicked him out the window. Bart recovered a little and got us up on the roof. I couldn't lift Kara and Kon with my broken arm and plus they're both really heavy. We kind of accepted our fate when Deathstroke…blew up Karen's head. Then you guys showed up. And thanks to you Bart, Kara and Conner are alive."

"For the time being. You can corroborate what Cassandra just said, Rose?"

"I can. She hit my dad in the balls and kicked him out the window. It was pretty badass."

"Whilst vulgar, I have to admit Cassandra…Good job. Not many people can take down Deathstroke when he's at the top of his game. Kudos."

Cassie had to blush a little knowing she was getting praise from Batman, the man not even a genius like Tim could impress at the best of times. "Thanks, Bruce," she said, regaining her sense of resentment towards the Dark Knight, "Now can you tell us about why the heck you're in a time machine with Rip Hunter, Booster Gold and half the Justice League?"

"Well, they say it's because they're trying to stop Thawne from ending the world. They said they need me…and I know Gotham is safe with my family."

"You could have told them. Everyone thinks you're dead."

"No, they don't."

"Okay, they don't. But you've gone off the radar like you did when everyone did think you were dead which wasn't that long ago. No goodbyes."

"I had to leave..."

"Not that urgently. By Hera man, we were in the room with you. Why didn't you pick us up then?"

"Because…Rip and Booster weren't interested in you guys. Until we saw into the future that Titans Tower was attacked. So, we pretty much headed right to you from where we were."

"Well, thanks, I guess. So, are you going to just drop us off?"

"That's for you to decide."

"Screw this," Rose then stormed off in a huff with Cassie moving to follow her. Batman then silently urged the demi-goddess to stay a moment. "Cassandra, I am sorry for what happened on Titans Tower. But take it from me, you don't need to blame yourself for their deaths." "Yes, I do," she said, folding her arms and staring at the ground, "I was the leader." "And like a lesson I had to learn the hard way, no matter how much you drill discipline into them they're still individuals," Batman reassured her, a gloved hand now on her right shoulder, "Bombshell died saving Supergirl and Zatara's death was because of his own stupidity."

"You can't—"

"It's the truth. I know it's not pleasant to hear, but it is. And the real truth is that you couldn't have protected your whole team this attack. The League could have, but we've been foolish. Their deaths are on me, Clark and Diana, not you, Cassie. You're just a seventeen-year old girl."

"I am not just a seventeen-year old girl, Bruce. I'm freaking Wonder Girl. I'm the leader of the Teen Titans."

"I know and respect that. But just know that Slade's attack could have been prevented by us, the adults who've been fighting evil like him since before you were born. If you want to blame anyone, blame us. I know what guilt can do to a hero. Don't let it override you, Cassandra."

"Or what?"

"Or you'll end up like me."

At the infirmary, Dinah Lance was with Mia Dearden while the latter was being checked over by Michael Carter, the man formerly known as Booster Gold. "You seem alright," she told her ex-husband's ward as she shined a light in her eyes, "Still slightly concussed, but just take the same painkillers I gave Ravager. You'll be fine in an hour." Mia then slowly nodded off as Michael held her head and laid her on one of the remaining sick beds. The occupied ones contained Superboy, Supergirl and Kid Flash, who were all comatose and in critical condition. "Thankfully, that Allen boy has the same blood group as Ted and my wife," he noted, washing his hands in a nearby basin, "Otherwise, he'd have been deader than the dodo." "I still think it's so cute you named him Ted," Dinah said with a slight giggle.

"What did you think I was going to call him Guy? Or Max?"

"Well, when you put it that way. It's great to see you, Booster. Though…I didn't expect it to take this long."

"Oh, you'll probably see my younger self again at some point. Just tell him none of this, please. I know I can trust every one of you on this ship and I don't want that jeopardised."

"Jesus, Booster, you have gotten old. You're all…serious."

"Ah, I can still be funny when I want to be."

"So, if Bart has the same blood group as your son…still can't believe that's Rip Hunter by the way…then how did you handle Kara and Conner with blood transfusions? Neither of them is human."

"No, but in my time 10% of the eastern seaboard of America is part-Kryptonian and that includes me. We have a unique blood group thanks to that. I've got like 3% Kryptonian DNA, 3% Olympian, 3% Tamaranean…"

"Olympian? Oh, don't tell me is it Conner and Cassie? Or Clark and Diana?"

"Dammit, Rip's gonna' kill me!"

"That is so adorable. So, you've always known how peoples' relationships worked out based on your family history."

"Sort of. All I know is who had a kid with who. I was never into the whole learning about your ancestors' life story buzz. Got too hung up on that once with my Carter ancestors. Made me way too anxious."

"Well, Booster, it's good to see you actually settled down. I know it didn't work out, but…It's good to know you had real happiness. Ted...would have been happy for you."

Dinah then jumped on Michael and hugged him tightly like she had never embraced a human being before. Michael didn't know how to react except to realise that his old friend was trying to show that she had loved him during those awkward days on the Justice League International. He had been such an ass, but his friendship with Blue Beetle had shone as brightly as Guy Gardner's relationship with Ice. He really loved his wife and son, but there was a brotherly love for Ted Kord that still tugged at his heart. Hugging Dinah reminded him that he could feel that time again after so many years. Smiling, he pushed her slightly forward by the shoulders but held onto her while he smiled inanely. "So, how is Ted?", he asked with genuine ignorance, "Rip said we didn't need to look for him."

Dinah was flabbergasted. Was this the same Booster she had known for years? He didn't even know Blue Beetle was dead. She thought back to how he had acted as if Maxwell Lord was acceptable as a namesake when talking about the name of his son only a few minutes ago. "Michael…just answer me one question," she slowly but surely asked, "How do I die?" "Now, Dinah, I…" "Answer me, or I'll scream your ear drums off where you stand."

"Very well. You die when you, Ollie and your daughter are consumed by a nuclear bomb Billy Batson contains to save ordinary people. He kept the nuclear blast to a small vicinity within the area. Sadly you, your husband and your child died before any real uncontaminated containment could occur. I'm sorry to tell you, Dinah, but you insisted."

"That's fine. Just tell me how Ted Kord died."

"Ted Kord? Well, he died with you. At the Battle of the Gulag."

"Battle of the Gulag? Michael, Ted was shot in the head by Maxwell Lord. And I…I can't have children. Was that girl Mia?"

"Oh…oh dear," he looked away from Black Canary, worry lines all over his face, "This is worse than Rip and I imagined." Michael released Dinah from their hug and sped off through the corridors leaving her behind to look over Mia and the others. In the cockpit, Rip Hunter was talking with Hal Jordan about where to go next. "We can't afford any more detours, Hal," he shouted, banging his hand on the dashboard while Hal sat in the pilot's seat, "Saving the Teen Titans was important, but we need to focus on tracking these anomalies." "Don't blame me for that one," Hal pointed a disgruntled finger at his captain, "Bruce insisted. He's a soft touch when danger's here, but never when someone needs a hug, is he? Probably why he and I never got along."

"Yes, Hal. You being such a big, cuddly bear in comparison, of course," Michael sarcastically shouted as he ran onto the bridge, "Ted…we need to talk. You didn't tell me Blue Beetle…your namesake…was dead!" "I thought you knew!" Rip answered with a puzzled expression. "I do now my memories have come back," Booster said with some sense of realisation, "But only because Dinah…jogged them." Hal put his face in his hands and sighed, not even wanting to understand what these two Chronauts were on about. "We had this talk when we spoke with Ollie," Rip dismissed his father, "You know things aren't exactly the same." "Yes, but Dinah is infertile!" Michael shouted with great intensity, "She should have a ten-year-old daughter by now! Little Olivia Queen, she'd be friends with Mar'i Grayson. At least she exists…somehow…we've got to rendezvous with Koriand'r on that at some point. All I'm saying is…I think we need to tell them all the truth." "What truth?" Hal asked, raising his face at the mere hint of information being withheld.

"What Dad means, Hal…is the fact that these anomalies run far deeper than we realised. In some good ways for you, bad in others. You massacred the Green Lantern Corps, yes?"

"Parallax did."

"Excuses, excuses," Michael said flippantly, "You killed them Hal! And you loved it!" "Fuck off, Booster," Hal spat back, "I was possessed." "Bull fu—" Hal then punched Michael so hard in the face he fell to the floor. "Parallax is another entity, like the Entity!" he shouted, anguish being masked by anger as he brandished his finger at the prone form of the man he just assaulted, "Not me! You hear me, Booster! Not me!" "Yeah well, that's one theory," Michael said as he rubbed the blood from his split lip. Rip helped his father up but gave him a disapproving glare. "Hal, we're not here to judge," Ted said in an attempt to defuse the situation, "Dad's just being an ass because he remembers…what you did pretty well." "I told Ted we couldn't trust you," Michael added, a bit embarrassed yet also determined, "But you're a damn fine pilot and I wasn't gonna' say no. Still, you being alive, and a hero again makes no sense." Rip shook his head and turned to his father.

"We should let him know what happened next."

"Very well. But we should tell everyone. Get them all here, son. I'm not letting him be the only one."

In twenty minutes, everyone of their little rag tag team was assembled. Firestorm, Vixen, Steel, Hal Jordan, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Zatanna, John Constantine, the Atom, Wonder Girl, Beast Boy, Raven, the Ravager and Batman. Rip decided to be the one to apologise for not being forthcoming. "Dad and I…we haven't told you guys everything," he announced, not entirely convincing that he wanted to be honest with them, "We're not just tracking anomalies to restore our own future. We are genuinely trying to save your own as well, but…your timeline is already very different from ours." "When and how did it change?" Batman asked with that growl of his before anyone else could interject.

"When Hal…Parallax killed the Green Lantern Corps. The battle to stop him from changing time ended up tipping Hypertime about and leaving you all with time displaced heroes. Like the JSA. Like Bart Allen, who we now unfortunately have comatose in the medibay, but thankfully alive. The only remaining Green Lanterns for years were Kyle Rayner and Alan Scott. Then, the Infinite Crisis came. Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor, Jr. came to destroy your universe and somehow rebuild the Infinite Earths the Anti-Monitor had destroyed. Wonder Girl and the others tell me that…Superboy died to stop that. In our timeline…Kyle Rayner did. And he didn't come back. But Blue Beetle lived. Jay Garrick and Alan Scott resumed the mantles of the Flash and Green Lantern respectively. The world became…less kind. Eventually, the Joker attacked the Daily Planet. Everyone died, except Clark Kent. But Lois Lane died…carrying her children. Clark knew not to kill his enemies, and so delivered the Joker to justice. The hero, Magog, murdered the Joker. The people of the world preferred the notion of such swift justice. They felt safe again because someone like the Joker was no more. Superman retired. The world knew peace for a decade with Magog usurping his position as the premier hero. Batman resisted the change, and Magog responded by outing him as Bruce Wayne, forcing him underground. He gave up on being that man altogether and ruled Gotham through a series of Machiavellian drones. Even Dick Grayson turned on him, particularly after the Infinite Crisis had torn them apart with the death of Tim Drake at the hands of Maxwell Lord. Ted had wanted Tim to take over as Blue Beetle, at the suggestion of Barbara Gordon. Particularly with the death of his girlfriend at the hands of Black Mask and wanting to get away from Gotham, Tim had agreed. Lord shot him through the head…"

"That's what happened to Ted in our time," Dinah said as she moved to Bruce and held his hand. "Yes," Rip nodded, "Evidently, Ted didn't retire for you. He became Blue Beetle again in Tim's memory after that. Time continued to pass, and eventually even the children and grandchildren of the old heroes conformed more to Magog's ways. Nightstar, daughter of Dick Grayson, who had taken the name of Red Robin to respect Kon-El becoming Nightwing before his own death, became a source of shame for her father, as did Olivia Queen to Green Arrow and Black Canary. The end of Magog's reign came with the destruction of Kansas caused by the detonation of Captain Atom. Because of that Superman returned to the fold, leading alongside Red Robin and Wonder Woman an army of heroes who still held true to his creed. In the remains of Kansas, they built a facility to re-educate the heroes which they dubbed the Gulag. But there were other forces at work. Lex Luthor founded the Mankind Liberation Front with the aid of Damian Wayne, now head of the League of Assassins. Damian was convinced by his estranged father and his adopted niece, Nightstar, who had become his lover, to betray Luthor, but the damage was already done. Luthor had turned Billy Batson, Captain Marvel, into his puppet with the help of Batson's old enemy, Doctor Sivana. When a breakout occurred at the Gulag, Superman and the League went to quell it. Then Luthor unleashed Captain Marvel to kill his oldest enemy just as he was defeated by Batman. Kal-El convinced Billy Batson to sacrifice himself to save their lives by flying into a nuclear missile the UN had fired at the battleground. So many died, but thanks to the last Green Lantern, a few survived including Superman, Wonder Woman and Red Robin. They all settled down then as Clark made peace with what the UN had done because he was advised to be true to himself by a very wise man called Norman McCay. As peace began again, Superman remarried to Wonder Woman and their children would usher in centuries of peace as the Earth's protectors. Then, they left not long before our time. Heroism faded into history. The likes of my father and I became inspired by the legends of what the world was like before the children of Krypton saved it. The Legends of Tomorrow."

"That's a cool name," Ray keenly noted. "Quite, Dr Palmer," Rip said perfunctorily, "We need this team not in order to restore that history, though. Our time can still come into being with all the changes you know, maybe even in a way a lot more comfortable for you guys than the near apocalypse we described. We just need to find the focal point that is ripping time apart. Dad, show them the time ripples." Michael activated a hologram which displayed an epicentre of the late 20th and early 21st century. "There's an explosion in Hypertime, spreading out from your time and destroying swathes of history to create something new. At the moment, it seems to be at the end of the 22nd century. By the time we left our time period, the fallout was devastating all around us. We suspect Eobard Thawne's involvement because he was the one who killed our family. Your time seems to be at the eye of the storm, but the trigger for the explosion seems to be in two places at once. Back some thirty years before your time and a few months ago from where we just landed. Two explosions being triggered at two different points. We haven't figured it out but we assume someone from your time travelled into that era and changed history. But the changes they made don't seem…radical enough, so we can't exactly tell what happened."

Dinah looked at Bruce and he looked to his feet, before stating "I can tell you exactly what happened." "You can?" Rip asked, genuinely bewildered, "I know you're Batman but that doesn't mean…" "It's not my fault," Bruce continued, "It's Barry Allen's. He went back in time and stopped the Reverse-Flash from killing his mother. Then he came back to our time and it was chaos. Thawne was killed, and Barry restored history. So, any explosion should be…" "No!" Rip shouted, "Barry Allen could not have known, but he tried to shunt history back into place after the fact. It's like super-gluing the pin back onto a grenade. Things seem alright in the short term, but in the long term, history becomes a free for all. The Web of Time is not meant to be disturbed and then be repaired by a mere mortal to try and make everything all hunky-dory again."

"Isn't that what you're trying to do?"

"No, we're trying to contain an explosion which will destroy time. Big difference. My actions in time have always been prevention rather than cure, because cures don't work, as we've just shown you. Now, we need you all to help us do something. We need you Legends to help us save all of causality." "And how are we going to do that?" Ray asked sarcastically. "By making sure Eobard Thawne changes nothing!" Rip shouted, his normally calm persona gone now, "By preventing him from ever doing anything to history! By making sure he never becomes the Reverse-Flash…We are going to find Eobard Thawne, and make sure he is every bit Barry Allen's nephew."