"Muda muda muda muda muda! MUDA! MUDA!" DIO sent The World after a giant Mynocless, mercilessly beating it into submission. Landing after caving the creature's skill in, he sighed in resignation. "How the hell did it come to this, Thawne? How did us, out of all people, end up fighting with these heroes?"

Eobard Thawne shrugged, "If anything, it's because we know. We know that our rivals forgave us. For everything. Barry let me have my old life back, and while I can't have that back here, I guess… It just feels like a waste to have the guy that I looked up to for so long give me one last chance for a normal life after all the other times I wasted them."

"Hmm… I suppose you're right. After everything I put Jojo through, even after I tried to kill his bloodline, he still forgave me as well. No matter what I did, my damn brother still cared." DIO punched a hole in a nearby wall, then another, and another, "WHY. CAN'T. THAT. DAMN. JOESTAR. JUST. HATE ME?!"

"Hell if I know." Thawne replied, "I still can't believe that Barry just… Forgave me. After everything I did."

"Why? Didn't you want his approval?"

"In a way, I guess. But I think he was more disappointed in me than anything. That hurt more than anything really." The yellow-clad speedster lamented.

"Yes… I sometimes think Jojo felt the same way…" DIO admitted, "I think on some level, he wished I could have been Joseph's grand uncle, or even Jotaro's great-great grand uncle. I guess that was not my fate though."

"Do you? Want to be their grand uncle, I mean." Thawne clarified.

"Perhaps in a different life, that would have been preferable. But… I suppose it would have been… Tolerable to have been their relative instead of their rival."

"Hard to think about a life where you don't hate him, huh?" Thawne asked, "I think that… I just imagined life spending time with Barry for so long, and trying to torment him, it just feels… empty. Like it won't make me feel any better afterwards."

"I suppose we are both looking for some sort of meaning in our lives without our rivals'… Rivalry." DIO halfheartedly shrugged.

"Hmm… It's almost sunrise." Thawne noted, "We better get back to base."

"Y'know, I've been meaning to ask actually… Why did you forgive them anyways?" Blake asked, "Because if Adam were to show up, then…"

"Well, it really wasn't up to me. It was mostly up to Barry. Thawne was mainly his tormentor, and at the end of it all, I think Barry was just disappointed in him. The guy could've been a hero and a great ally, but he just chose not to be."

"Likewise with Dio." Jonathan said, "At the end of the day, Dio was looking for a meaning behind his suffering. I was more… Disappointed that he chose the path he did rather than angry. There are many days in which I wish I could have my brother back."

"And the other days?" Blake asked, "What about then?"

"Those days I do feel angry towards him. I am not fully aware of the history between you and this Adam person, but from what I have come to understand is that he refuses to lament any of his actions."

"Yeah, say what you want about Thawne, the guy just wanted to spend time with Barry. Maybe he should've tried living up to his name first, but still. I can get the whole starstruck thing."

"He reminds me of Syndrome from The Incredibles." Blake deadpanned.

"Well, like I said, it wasn't up to me. It was up to Barry. Like how DIO's whole deal is up to Jojo to forgive. If that Adam guy ends up here, it's up to you to say if you forgive him or not. Not us. And definitely not him."

"Truthfully, I think that our foes are resentful because of our forgiveness. On some level, they don't believe that they're deserving of it."

"I guess that explains why Aizen and Madara just decided to live in solitude in a different sector. They probably just want to be left alone and not deal with anything."

"They also know that if they do try anything, that there are plenty of other people around to stop them. DIO and Thawne are coming back from patrol. You three are up next. We've had some reports of GrimmX in Sector 8. Good luck out there." Barbara's voice said over their comms.

"Ah, modern technology still astounds me." Jonathan stated, "We have people to save, and monsters to slay. Let us press onwards."

Wally stretched his legs and did some quick exercises to get his blood flowing, "Okay. Any word from Galaxia and Beerus?"

"None so far. Trunks and Silver did find an outpost with some older supplies. Apparently, it was left behind by Samus. We're sending some of our guys to check it out. Either we find something useful or we find clues. Either way, this is going to be a long fight ahead of us."

"Good to hear it, Barb." Wally said, "We'll be heading out now."

Alexis: Chirp chirp tweet?

Pinkie: I'm not sure how far away from that explosion we got. And I'd rather not know what made it…