Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Little miss Lian Harper-Queen was finally turning 4. Technically she should’ve already turned 4 but as, to her, only a day or so had passed since her ‘death’ prior to her return via Speedster Mail everyone decided it best to give her a new birthday. It was just easier that way as the idea of celebrating on her actual birthday when they’d spent her last birthday grieving hurt to much.

When asked Lian declared that her new birthday would be Valentine's Day because, and these are her exact words, “then eveyting can be pink at da party” and neither Roy nor Jason could compete with such flawless logic. Roy honestly doubted even Thea or Bruce could outmaneuver such flawless logic and they were the two most logical people he knew.

Speaking of Thea, she was doing ok. Sure she hadn’t seen any of the Wayne’s, not even Cass, since the showdown with Crane several months ago. And yeah the only time the Queen’s ever saw her was for their recently reinstated weekly family dinners, of which she only attended as long as none of the Wayne’s were coming. But maybe she was just finally going through her teenage rebellion phase or something. She had started seeing a therapist, a Caroline Hill according to Ollie, again and that had to mean something.

Right?

Besides, Thea had agreed to attend Lian’s birthday party so it wasn’t like she was totally ignoring everyone. Sure it took them like 12 attempts to get her to answer the fucking phone just so Lian could actually invite her but that’s besides the point. She agreed, despite being warned that all of the Queen's, Wayne’s, and several other League affiliated individuals like Clark and Diana would be in attendance, and that counted as a win to them. She even confirmed that she would be in attendance at their family dinner a few days ago.

Lian was really excited. Thea was, unsurprisingly, her favorite aunt. A much more shocking fact however was that Damian was Lian’s favorite uncle. He even beat out Dick, who was her actual godfather, for the position purely because he made her copies of his artwork for her to practice her coloring. Lian REALLY liked coloring and though she wasn’t very good at it yet, she’s only 4 give her a break, Damian always praised her artistic choices and made her feel like her coloring was award worthy. And for that, he was decidedly her favorite uncle.

Dick hadn’t taken the news super well but as it was really nice to see Damian growing up he got over it.

“Are you almost ready Jay” Roy called from the kitchen of one of Jason’s many Gotham safe houses.

Jason had actually been meaning to get rid of this safe house. Back before Lian had ‘died’ he’d mentioned wanting to burn it, and several other safe houses around Gotham. Mentioned how he wanted to give up being a vigilante and crime lord entirely so he could focuse on becoming a family man. Had been working on getting his degree while Roy had started working part time at an auto shop where they’d lived in Oxford. But then everything happened and their plans fell apart.

They’d discussed it a little since Lian’s return. Discussed moving back to the UK so Jason could finish pursuing his degree and Roy could go back to working in an auto shop or something. They could retire, for reals this time, and raise Lian together happily. It was little more than a forgotten dream at the moment but he knew, based on the way Jason would talk about it, that the younger man was actively working towards making it a reality.

Red Hood was working to ensure Park Row could flourish without his constant vigilance. Was working to ensure that all of the good he, and the rest of the Bats, had done wouldn’t be undone if any of them decided to actually retire. And, most importantly, he’d begun looking at courses he could start taking again.

“Jay come-on” Roy called again when Jason didn’t respond. Exiting the kitchen he made his way towards the partially opened bedroom door and knocked “Lian's gonna be upset if we’re late to her party”

Still he was met with silence.

Knocking once more he pushed the door open slowly. At first he was confused, as he couldn’t see Jason, but then he noticed his shoe sticking out of the small walk-in closet featured in this particular safe house. Feeling himself pale slightly Roy opened the closet already half certain he knew what he was going to find inside.

Both he and Jason, and most of the Capes they knew, struggled with various mental health issues. Many had PTSD and several had straight up witnessed the deaths of their friends, family, and/or lovers. Others, like Thea and Jason, were victims of torture and, in the case of Jason and Thea, had actually died at least once. And while therapy helped make those traumas and experiences at least somewhat manageable they, unfortunately, weren’t something that would ever just go away. And sometimes there wasn’t anything anyone could do to prevent an ‘episode’ or panic attack. A panic attack like the one Jason was presently experiencing in the small closet.

“Jay” he called softly as he knelt before his trembling and hyperventilating boyfriend “everything is going to be ok, just match my breathing Jay”

It took a while, nearly half an hour, but eventually Jason managed to escape the ever brutal grasp of his own mental spiral.

“I’m sorry” Jason apologized as Roy slowly helped him to his feet “I didn’t mean to make us late. I just wanted to change shirts and I”

Roy looked past Jason and fought the frown that tried to grace his features at the sight. Jason’s old blue duffle, the one had once held several heads and was stained with dried blood, was on the floor while a crowbar that looked eerily like the one the Joker had used to beat Jason with could be seen sticking out through a hole in it. He’d thought they’d gotten rid of that specific duffle, and the crowbar, ages ago as seeing them always triggered Jason.

It was part of the reason they’d intended on burning so many of their Gotham safe houses. Too many difficult memories and bad experiences. Too many reminders of the pain and traumas they’d both been subjected to throughout their admittedly short lives.

“Which shirt do you want Jay” he soothed softly as he helped the younger man to the bed out and away from the closet “I’ll get it for you”

A shirt change and a tight hug later and they were off towards Wayne Manor. From there they’d Zeta to Queen Manor and see their daughter.

Lian was surely going to love the pastel pink polo Jason had decided to wear.

~*~

Lian was having the greatest day of her life. It was her new birthday, which was super cool cause she didn’t know anyone who got to pick their own birthday, and everyone came to celebrate it with her. Even Auntie Thea promised to come and her dad said that was a really big deal cause the Wayne’s and Justice League were also going to be coming.

Plus, and this is important, everyone promised to wear pink like she’d asked them to. Even her Uncle Damian agreed to wear pink despite not liking the color. She didn’t know why he didn’t like pink, it is the best color in the world, but he wore it for her so it didn’t matter.

She was just happy everyone was going to be together to celebrate the fact that she was now four and not three. They were just waiting for a few more people to show up, particularly her grandpas and some of their Justice League friends.

And Auntie Thea. But she wasn't worried about Auntie Thea not coming as she'd promised she'd be there before they started presents.

She'd promised she'd be there.

~*~

“I’ve got the shot” Z stated over a secure com channel while Thea, or Ifrit, slipped throughout the facility on silent feet towards the server room in what would best be described as a ripoff Cadmus.

“Then take it” she ‘ordered’ as she slipped inside the secure server room implanting the device she’d been given by their ‘employer’ into the server before her as she scanned through documents. She took special care to extract what was truly important while the device did what it was supposed to do and ate the servers inside out.

The organization they were presently infiltrating were believed to be experimenting on metahumans. And by ‘believed to be’ she really meant ‘were very much guilty’ as this was the third facility they’d infiltrated as a team on ‘orders’ by Amanda Waller herself. While locating the server room she'd found more than enough physical evidence to prove their guilt even without the documents she was presently securing. The monsters responsible for this facility deserved everything coming to them and so much worse.

In the distance there was an explosion as Z eliminated their mark. Owens would ‘clean up’ after him ensuring their weren’t any survivors. Thea needed another minute or two for the virus on Waller’s device to fully wipe and destroy the remaining servers now that she'd gotten everything she needed from them.

No one quite knew what Pru was doing at the moment. She said it was important though so none of them were particularly concerned about it. As long as her bald ass made it out alive with the rest of them they were chill with whatever the fuck she was doing.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me” Owens swore over the com “why in hell are the Justice League and the big blue boyscout here”

“Fuckin rich prats probably whined about the ‘villains’ going after their businesses” Pru snapped back as she continued whatever it was she was doing. Based on what they could hear around her it was safe to assume she'd located where the facility's head people had managed to hide themselves away. Good for her "probably here to make sure we play by the rules or whatever shit they think makes them better than the rest of us"

That was fair. The companies Waller had been sending them after were all linked to various, high ranking and wealthy, anti-metahuman politicians including several senators and more than a few congressmen. If anyone was going to call ‘foul’ on there being consequences to their actions it was them.

Though the fact that the Justice League had actually chosen to get involved was strange. Bruce wouldn’t accept such a ‘job’ without first doing his own due diligence. It was also unlikely to that Clark, an investigative journalism, would ‘jump the gun’ regarding something like this.

Unless of course they weren’t their main target. It was entirely possible the League had figured out the connection between the companies they’d eliminated for Waller. They very well could be looking into it in an effort to help. It would make sense considering the League, and Clark’s, complicated history with organizations like Cadmus.

Not that it mattered, Waller’s device was finished running. The servers were so fried not even Barbara or Victor would be able to restore anything of value from them.

“Disengage” she ordered as she slipped out of the server room and towards where she knew Clark, and whichever other League Members were there, would be “I’ll handle the League”

All three not quite ex-assassins grumbled in response but did as she asked though Pru appeared beside her briefly to retrieve the flash drives from her before departing. Using modified Canary tech they’d be able to slip away without Clark finding them. And while, technically, she could also slip away without issue that wouldn’t solve anything. The Justice League would only become a bigger problem if they didn’t handle them properly.

And, despite how much she disliked Clark as an individual, she had no desire for Waller to get it in her head that they'd need to actually go against the Justice League. It just wasn’t worth the head ache. So she'd, hopefully, trick them into focusing on her so Waller and her teams could finish the job in peace.

“Something I can help you with Boy Scout” she asked politely enough through her voice modulator “and please don’t say you’re here to stop me. I’d really hate to learn that you’re trying to save some Cadmus wannabe”

Clark frowned at the mention of Cadmus. Or he frowned because he hadn’t actually heard her arrive. Honestly it was anyone’s guess as to the reason but the point was, he was frowning as a result. Fucking with Clark was always fun, even after all these years.

“You didn’t need to kill anyone Ifrit” Clark snapped back raising his voice just enough to almost hide the arrival of the rest of his team. Honestly if she was anyone else such a plan would’ve worked but as it was she wasn’t anyone else and was aware that three other Leaguers were in attendance.

Unfortunately for her two of those Leaguers were people she REALLY didn’t want to fight while Ifrit. She wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of fighting Hal either, he had always been her favorite Leaguer after those she considered family, but she could handle it.

Young Thea, who’d realized she was bisexual when after witnessing Hal Jordan take apart and rebuild a jet engine in 30 minutes, however would have some words about it though.

“You’re might be right” she admitted almost sweetly as she sidestepped Hal’s attempt at trapping her in one of his constructs “but I’d argue that the dead metahuman children in the labs downstairs would disagree with you”

“73 children kidnapped, experimented on, and murdered on orders from the very people who are supposed to have their best intentions in mind” she hissed crystalline eyes freezing green as she remembered everything she’d seen on her way to the server room “so if you’d like me to apologize for ensuring their murderers faced justice than I’m going to have to politely ask you to fuck right off”

“That wasn’t Justice” a voice barked signaling Batman’s true arrival as he appeared from the shadows to lunge for her “that was you playing judge, jury and executioner”

Thea fought the laughter as she twisted around the larger man. Mid twist she had to bend backward to narrowly avoid an arrow from Green Arrow that zipped maybe an inch from her face. The hardest part of everything though was ensuring Clark didn’t join the fray. She could, theoretically, take him down but she wasn’t sure she could do so without severly hurting Oliver, Bruce, or Hal in the process. And she wasn't sure she could do so without revealing her identity as Ifrit.

“That would imply I’m going this of my own volition Batman” she teased dodging another two more arrows, both also zipping dangerously close to her face, before sliding under one of Hal’s constructs with a mostly clean backbend. She did very nearly lose control at this point as Clark used his ice breath to make the floor slick but years of practice allowed her to keep her balance if only just barely.

“We’ll be taking you in for questioning” Batman growled before tossing what she knew to be incredibly potent knock out pellets right at her the little bulbs bursting against her face.

Such a thing wouldn’t work as she wore a mask with a built in filter to fight against for such things while operating as Ifrit. And without removing her mask, which wasn’t possible to do against her will without magical assistance, it’d take something actually managing to break her mask’s filter for the gas to hit her. And as her mask’s filter had been designed to withstand a punch from Kon they’d have to resort to something like rapidly exposing it to a drastic temperature shift for such a thing to even be feasibly possible.

Shit.

She realized the play as the first lung full of knock out gas slipped through her mask’s now cracked air filter. The arrows her father had fired at her had likely been the subzero arrows he’d designed with Roy in case another evil Speedster showed up hell bent on hurting Bart. He’d likely aimed them intentionally so they’d pass her filter close enough to damage its structural integrity if and when she dodged them. Hal's construct had been placed deliberately to ensure she’d end up close enough to the floor thar Clark’s ice breath could effectively lower the ambient temperature around her to finish cracking the filter enough to render it useless. All of which when done together allowed Bruce to hit her with knock out pellets they’d designed together several years ago.

Bruce had actually used a contingency she’d rewritten recently on how to subdue masked/helmeted individuals like the Black Mask or Red Hood, or like half the goons in Gotham, without using lethal force. It was a realization that left her not quite smiling as her vision began to blur. While inconvenient as all hell the fact that he was still reading her contributions to the Bat Server, despite the fact that she’d been avoiding him and the rest of the Bats since the incident with Crane, warmed her heart.

Passing out when she was expected to be at a birthday party in a small handful of hours however was decidedly awful. A birthday party she had promised she'd attend. A birthday party she'd intended on attending after what should have been a easy mission. A party she was most certainly going to miss as the knock out gas in the pellets were designed to knock someone out for 12-24 consecutive hours depending on metabolism.

Fuck, Lian was going to be beyond upset with her.

Chapter Text

“It’s time for bed Princess” Roy pleaded for maybe the 12th time in the last hour. It was significantly past Lian's bedtime, the clock had just struck midnight, but the 4 year old refused to go to bed.

She still believed Thea was coming.

“No” she snapped arms crossed around her chest as she pouted “Auntie Thea promised she'd come. She always keeps her promises”

Roy's heart shattered yet again at his daughter's faith in his sister. Excluding Damian, who was staying the weekend with them, everyone had left hours ago. Many had wanted to stay longer but an emergency at the Watchtower had forced them to depart.

And Thea hadn’t bothered to show up.

And he was furious with her for it. How dare she hurt his daughter, her niece, like that. She of all people knew better. How many birthdays had Jack and Janet missed despite promising they’d be home in time? How many events and functions had she attended alone, or with one of them, because her parents got so caught up with work that they forgot about her?

Jack and Janet Drake loved their daughter, they all knew that. But that didn’t mean they were the best of parents. They weren’t around often enough to be, especially not near the end when Drake Industries really started to take off.

“Maybe someting happened” Lian tried as Roy carried her to bed despite her earlier protests. It was clear she was exhausted, it’d been a long day and she was only 4, but she still believed Thea would pull through “she’d never break a promise on purpose”

Roy tried to smile warmly at her optimism but it was forced. Thea had always been rather flighty, even at her best, and it’d only gotten worse in recent years. And yes she did seem to always pull through when it came to Lian, and when it really mattered, but how long was that going to last? How long until she just vanished for 6 plus months, again, without a word?

They still didn’t know how she found Bruce. They knew it involved Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins but that was about it really. Not even Kon had the full story and he was Thea's actual boyfriend.

He just wished he knew why she didn’t trust him, or anyone really, anymore. They’d been so close once, the whole family had, but sometimes those days felt like a faraway dream. Sure he’d, mostly mended his relationship with Mia, Connor, his parents, and Jason but it was different without Thea. She didn’t laugh, or smile, like she used to and he didn’t know what he could do to help.

“I’ll nap” Lian declared as he laid her into her bed “but you gotta wake me up when Auntie Thea gets here”

“Sure thing Princess”

~The Watchtower~

“What do you mean ‘They walked out’” Bruce demanded in a deep, menacing, Batman growl.

Hal Jordan, Green Lantern extraordinaire, didn’t cower. . .much, in response. He didn’t much believe what he was saying either but it was the truth. Ifrit had woken up and just walked out.

Like they literally walked through the Containment Cell’s door, wall, thing, said a few rather polite words, paralyzed him somehow, and left. They even used the fucking Zeta to do it.

“I’m tellin ya Spooky, they walked the fuck out” he repeated as Victor, the Titan turned Leaguer known as Cyborg, restored the camera feed to verify his claims.

~Several Hours Ago~

Thea woke up with a silent groan. She had a, hopefully, minor concussion, some nasty bruising, and was presently chained to the wall of a Containment Cell within the Watchtower.

And not well either she thought bitterly as she realized they’d locked her left hand into the cuff designed for the right. It caused her arm to be positioned incredibly awkwardly behind her back. Worse still whomever had chained her likely used superstrength, by mistake she hoped, as the cuff was far too tight around her wrist.

“This is going to suck to get out of” she cursed softly as she checked the time in her gauntlet.

It was just after 8 pm meaning she’d been out for just under 8 hours. Which meant whatever Bruce had hit her with was either not her formula or something she would need to rework. She was pretty sure they’d tested to ensure it was capable of keeping Clark, Diana, J’onn, Arthur and Jason down for 12-24 hours despite their varying metabolisms but honestly she wasn’t sure they’d actually done that. She knew that one of her more recent gadgets hadn’t been fully tested but she couldn’t remember if it was the knock out gas or the paralytics she used as Ifrit.

It could also be the device she was working on for Roy for Lian that wasn’t fully tested. She wasn’t completely positive. But in her different she most certainly had a, hopefully, minor concussion.

“One. . .two. . .three”

Deciding she’d been ‘left to her thoughts’ long enough she twisted sharply as she spoke. Popping her shoulder out of the socket to get the angle she needed to break out of the cuff sucked ass. Breaking her arm to generate the force necessary to shatter the cuff however was significantly worse.

Could she have saved herself time, and pain, by breaking it another way? Most certainly. But that would likely lead to the Justice League realizing she, Thea Drake-Lance-Queen, was Ifrit. And if they realized she was Ifrit it’d only take like maybe an hour for them to begin piecing together what all happened while she was searching for Bruce.

And she couldn’t have that happening.

And besides she’d really wanted to test a theory she’d gotten by watching a recent kinda friend/occasional teammate and not quite villain Porcelain very nearly break Superman with their powers. Porcelain, essentially, had the ability to make things brittle. The tougher the thing the more brittle it became. Something unbreakable like Clark? Little more than delicate glass to Porcelain.

She mimiked what the way Porcelain explained her powers and did something similar to the cuff that had once been on her. By slipping the sound of her own voice into the atoms of the cuff she made the material less structurally sound and then, with a twist and a break, she shattered it.

Neat trick all things considered. It hurt like a bitch but that was mostly because she couldn't risk it appearing like a Canary trick.

Her next trick however was decidedly less fun. Arguably more interesting but less fun. In fact she actively hated using this next trick.

As many people know phasing through walls, and other stuff, is something most competent Speedster’s are capable of. They speed their atoms up enough that they can quite literally move through solid matter. It’s incredibly impressive if not more than a little creepy.

She’s seen a Speedster phase a man’s heart out of his chest once. As neat a trick as it was it was a sight she’d rather never see again. There'd been so much blood. . .and an entire dead body. . .which hadn't been super great.

Anyway, she can’t do that. Technically. She can’t speed her own atoms up enough, consistently to phase through solid matter. At least not safely anyway. What she can do however is something remarkably similar in practice.

She can weave the ambient sound waves of the room around her into an object like the door, wall, thing of the Containment Cell she was presently in. And she can then speed those sound waves up until the door, wall, thing they were weaved into becomes essentially intangible. And she can walk through that now intangible door, wall, thing to escape the Containment Cell and into the Watchtower’s hallway.

She just really didn’t like doing so. Because, regardless of how fast she moved the sound waves, the object wasn’t actually made intangible. And walking through it was incredibly uncomfortable and extremely gross. Like walking through a wall made of jello that, unfortunately, had food chunks in it. Food chunks she had to be incredibly careful not to displace lest she risk causing the jello structure to end up as goo on the floor around her.

Been there done that, it was absolutely disgusting.

“What in the hell” a voice called informing Thea she wasn’t alone in the Watchtower’s hallway.

At least she was still wearing her mask.

Turning slightly she caught sight of Hal Jordan staring at her horrified. At his feet, rolling towards Thea, was an opened energy drink that he’d likely dropped in shock. A waste of a shockingly good tasting energy drink if you ask her.

“I’d like it to be stated on record that you’re my favorite member of the Justice League” Thea stated, out loud, while the fangirl (she’s not a stalker shut your face) inside her freaked the fuck out “I’d also like it stated that I’m really sorry for this Hal Jordon”

Hal blinked as his name was mentioned before frowning as he felt something pierce his neck. A moment later he hit the ground two small pinpricks, hidden just behind his right ear, the only indicator that he’d been struck at all.

The toxin she’d injected into Hal was based on the Batrachotoxin found in the feathers and skin of the Blue-Capped Ifrit for which she chose her Ifrit moniker. Though hers was far weaker than the one found in nature, as she’d intentionally designed it to be nonlethal and merely a paralytic, it was still incredibly effective.

At such a small dosage he’d be back to normal in an hour or two. Three tops.

“Unfortunately I cant stay and chat” she apologized lamely once back to her original spot “It really was an honor to meet you though”

And with that she was off, sprinting towards the Zeta beams. It’d take at least an hour to through the Leagues trail on her but if she timed it right she should be able to make it to Roy and Jason’s house, with Lian’s gift, before Lian was put to bed.

Gods above she really didn’t want to break her promise to Lian.

~Presently~

“Ifrit knows your civilian identity” Bruce snapped his irritation palpable.

Thankfully, for Hal, Diana came to his defense at this point.

“Ifrit is believed to know the identities of most if not all established Leaguers and Titans” she explained with a frown “they have been noted as having call multiple members of both teams by their civilian names when encountered in the field”

“They are also the individual responsible for the Electrocutioner’s capture a year ago” Dinah added stepping forward “according to what Red Hood and Arsenal have told me Ifrit called Red Hood’s personal cell directly to relay the information resulting in the Electrocutioner’s apprehension by the Outlaws”

That information earned a splattering of gasps and murmurs. Everyone there knew of what happened to the Electrocutioner. None really cared, in fact most were secretly happy it’d gone down the way it had, but few had known of Ifrit’s involvement in the matter.

“Does that make Ifrit an ally” Hal asked hesitantly.

He was openly in favor of what had happened to the Electrocutioner. He didn’t condone murder but the bastard had ‘killed’ a girl not yet 4. Worse still he hadn’t actually killed her but trafficked her to the future to be trained, and tortured, into a weapon to be used against the family actively grieving her 'death'. As far as he was concerned Ifrit being the catalyst to the man’s death earned them brownie points with him.

It didn’t hurt their standing with him that Ifrit had said he was their favorite Leaguer. He’s never been anyone’s favorite Leaguer before. . .wait, no that isn’t true. The now retired hero the Crimson Canary, Thea, had said he was her favorite Leaguer once back when she was still mainly operating as Batman's 3rd Robin. But he’d never gotten a chance to ask if she meant that or if she was just trying to upset Bruce's feelings.

It had upset Bruce. It also greatly upset Thea's actual father Oliver. Neither heroes spoke to him for almost 2 months after that. It made Leauge Trivia Night very difficult.

“They are an unknown” Batman countered without a hint of Bruce in his tone “and as such they are to be treated as a threat until more information is acquired”

The Leaguers present all nodded. Hal couldn’t help but wonder if Batman’s decision was the right one. Surely someone who said Hal Jordon, Green Lantern, was their favorite Leaguer couldn’t be that bad.

~A Week Later~

Roy wanted to be furious. His sister, his baby sister, had broken her promise to his daughter and hadn’t shown up. Logically he was allowed to be pissed.

But he was terrified.

The last time Thea vanished without notice the League of Assassins had tried to paint Gotham red with the blood of the Bats and their closest friends and allies. The last time Thea disappeared she came back with a laundry list of new traumas she all but outright refused to divulge. The last time Thea left without warning she very nearly ended up dead on the streets of Gotham after being kicked through a literal window.

And now, for the 2nd time in less than a year, Thea was missing again. No one had seen or heard from her since they had spoken the morning of Lian’s birthday to confirm her attendance. Not even Kon could get in contact with her.

Lian had been an absolute mess about it the first few days. The fact that her Auntie Thea had broken her promise had deeply upset her. But, and this was probably because she was only 4, she’d moved on fairly quickly. They were all being careful to not give her any reason to worry just yet.

Maybe Thea was on some top secret world saving mission. With how powerful her meta abilities were it wouldn’t surprise him if that were the case. It’d upset him sure but not surprise him.

What did surprise him was the knock that came while he and Jason were getting ready to go wake Lian up for breakfast before heading to daycare. It had been a week and some change since Lian’s birthday. Damian had stayed the weekend again and was presently sitting in the kitchen, dressed for them to take him to Gotham Academy for school after breakfast. They hadn’t been expecting guests.

They hadn’t expected Thea to be knocking on their door at 6 in the morning.

Chapter Text

On the one hand, Thea had definitive proof that the real Ra's al Ghul was dead. Like dead, dead, and not coming back, ever. Objectively good news that took more than a little weight off her shoulders.

On the other hand however, the crazy ancient bastard had apparently named her as his heir apparent before she literally ‘betrayed’ him. And apparently the fact that she had pulled the strings leading to his actual death didn’t disqualify her from being his heir. In fact she was pretty sure it had strengthed her standing as heir weirdly enough. And the, shockingly still alive, masterminds that Ra's apparently answered to, and Talia, were after her.

For wildly different reasons obviously.

It took damn near three days to convince Talia, stab-happy, al Ghul that Thea wanted nothing to do with running the League or Assassins. And then it took another three days to find and kill, eliminate, convince the old murder-happy bastards that were saying otherwise in the hopes that she’d ‘fall in line’ or whatever. And she had to do all of that while actively avoiding the Justice League who evidently did not take kindly to her escaping the Watchtower and, temporarily, poisoning subduing her favorite Green Lantern.

But she had done it. Talia was now the rightful ruler of the newly renamed League of Shadows, as Thea had thought she’d been for months, Ra’s controllers were all dead out of the picture, and Thea could finally return home.

Unfortunately she surely had a very angry not quite boss and kinda secretary to answer to still. Though, hopefully, they’d understand her putting off facing that specific music for a little while longer. She still needed to deliver Lian her unfortunately late birthday present.

She slipped into the safe house she had stored Lian’s gift in, to avoid the little Princess from finding it early, showered as quickly as she could and got dressed for work. If she were a braver woman she’d consider taking yet another day off work but that wasn’t an option right now. They were supposed to be starting the paperwork to transfer Wayne Enterprise back to Bruce today, in like a handful of hours, so she really couldn’t afford not showing up.

Glancing at her reflection as she fixed her hair she frowned. Even with the glamor charm she always wore she looked a mess. The fact that she hadn’t eaten or slept in the last several days was visible. The fact that she still had a broken arm, plus several cracked ribs and far more bruises than she cared to count, certainly didn’t help.

Oh well, she had extra glamor charms laying about specifically for moments like this. Slipping some clip on earrings, as the Lazarus Pit had de-pierced her ears and she hasn’t had the time or energy to re-pierce them, and some rings she frowned as her physical appearance shifted back to the perfection she was known for.

It wouldn’t help the pain felt because of her broken arm but, thanks to the Pit, she wagered that’d be healed in about a week or so. As long as she doesn’t have it re-broken for a fourth time.

Satisfied she grabbed Lian’s present with her good hand and headed out.

~*~

Roy was staring at his sister now standing in the entryway of his home dumbfounded. On the one hand he was immensely happy that she was alive and safe.

On the other hand he was absolutely furious with her.

She was dressed impeccably, as always, and that fact infuriated him. She’d been missing for a week and then she just showed up, without a single hair out of place, as if nothing was wrong. As if nothing had even happened.

“Where have you been” he demanded far too sharply for a polite conversation.

Jason was in the other room, helping Lian get ready for daycare. Damian was still in the kitchen. And Thea was standing before him her expression blank and as professionally perfect as always.

Like an actual fucking robot. Hell even Red Tornado could show more expression than Thea was right now.

“I” she started only to be cut off by Roy. He didn’t want her excuses regardless of how beautifully spun the story surely was. Because if she had the chance to speak she’d certainly be able to charm her way out of his anger.

It was one of the many talents that made her such an impressive hero after all.

“No” he snapped angrily “there isn’t anything you could say that would excuse what you’ve done”

“Lian trusted you to keep your promise and be here for her birthday party” he paused his anger hitting new heights when Thea didn’t react to the clear goading “I don’t know why I’m surprised” he stated his tone going cold “after all why would the perfect fucking doll that is Thea Drake care about anyone other than herself”

He hadn’t meant to say that. He knew it wasn’t true and that he was just trying to get a reaction from his ever stone faced sister. But the reaction he got, the split second of hurt that flashed through his baby sister’s crystalline eyes at his words, told him he’d crossed the line from justified anger into ruthless cruelty.

Again.

He'd reopened a wound he hadn’t known existed prior to Lian’s funeral. When he’d said, basically, the exact same fucking thing and Oliver full on clocked him across the face for it. Thea’s need to appear perfect was just as much a defense mechanism as Jason's reliance on angry words. Just as much as his past reliance on drugs all those years ago.

And to use it against her wasn’t justified. It was just cruel.

“Thea that’s not” he tried only to be waved off by his sister her expression completely blank once more.

“You’re right” she agreed the heartbreak in her voice carefully hidden away in a move that truly emphasized how badly Roy had hurt her with his words “I just came to drop off Lian’s present”

A box he hadn’t noticed before was suddenly placed in his arms.

“Feel free to remove the card if you don’t wish for her to know it’s from me” she continued before turning on her heel and leaving without another word.

He had fucked this up so very badly. And yet he didn’t even realize how badly he’d fucked up until Damian came running out of the kitchen in a panic.

“We need to find Drake now” he stated with an intensity that genuinely surprised Roy. He knew the younger boy was fond of Thea but seeing him openly express concern for another was always a strange sight.

“She just left Dames” Roy stated numbly. She had left because instead of hearing her out he’d hurt her “and I don’t think she wants to see me right now after what I said to her”

“I don’t give a shit what either of you want” Damian snapped swearing for the first time since Roy has known him “she opened the door with her right hand when she left”

Roy arched a brow. He didn’t see why that mattered, Thea was right handed. It was natural for a right handed person to open a door with their right hand. Yet, for some reason he couldn’t quite place, imagining Thea opening a door with her right hand felt wrong. He wasn’t sure if it justified Damian’s clear concern but it certainly felt abnormal.

Even if he couldn’t quite place why.

“In the time we’ve known each other I have only seen Drake open a door with their right hand once” Damian explained already calling Kon “she’d broken her left wrist in a fight against Killer Croc a week prior”

Oh. . .ok? Surely that was noteworthy and a matter of concern, he hadn’t even been aware Thea had ever fought Killer Croc, but he still couldn’t place why. What was he forgetting?

“Did you say Thea opened a door with her right hand” Jason asked sounding as concerned as the younger Wayne.

Damian nodded tightly before showing Jason the proof on the tablet with the security feeds. Then he swore multiple times before calling Bart as Kon wasn’t answering Damian's repeated attempts.

“Opening doors with one’s left hand in Gotham is safer as you can better angle yourself to brace behind the door in case there is a trap set behind it” he explained after a moment when Bart declined his call for the second time. He’d try Cassie next “it was something she was taught by her Mama”

“Why does Drake refer to her Mother by three different titles” Damian asked immediately “do Mother, Mom, and Mama not all mean the same thing? Why differentiate?”

“Auntie Thea has 3 mommies” Lian explained walking out of her room dressed for breakfast and daycare. They still needed to do her hair but she was ready to go past that.

“That’s right Princess” Jason praised frowning as Roy continued to sink upon himself as he realized the true gravity regarding this specific habit of his sister’s “Thea uses Mother to refer to Janet, Mom is Dinah, and Mama is”

“Harley” Roy finished the full realization sinking in.

She’d learned to open doors in a particular way to ensure her survival while she’d been in the Joker's clutches. And Thea using her right hand instead of her left was a deviation from habit he should have caught as Damian had. It was an idiosyncrasy she had rarely, if ever, deviated from throughout the time they've known one another.

Except when, as Damian had noted, she was injured and in immense pain.

Pulling out his phone he considered who he needed to call. For whatever reason Thea’s team weren’t taking their calls right now. Probably knew at least something and were rightly upset with them. But who else would Thea be seeing today? Surely she wouldn’t just hide away with her friends after having been missing for an entire week.

No, he knew who to call. Thea had been dressed for work. She was, if he remembered correctly, getting ready to hand Wayne Enterprises back to Bruce. It was just over an hour and a half before her normal arrival time at Wayne Enterprise.

He called Lucius while having Jason call Tam. Damian called Bruce.

With any luck they’d be able to catch her at Wayne Enterprise. With any luck he’d be able to apologize to her sincerely and make sure she was ok. Gods above he needed to make sure his kid sister was ok.

“Dad” Lian called pulling him out of his thoughts “can I wear it to daycare”

In her hands was Thea’s gift for her. It was a beautiful Princess Aurora dress that seemed to shift from pink to blue depending on how the light hit it. Aurora was Lian’s favorite Disney Princess, because she had multiple ‘mommies’ like Auntie Thea, and she’d been begging for a princess dress since before her presumed death. It was the perfect gift for her.

And it only served to cement the already accepted fact that Thea hadn’t willingly missed Lian’s party.

“You can wear it if you change quickly” he promised warmly “but what do you say we visit your Auntie Thea before daycare so you can thank her in person”

Lian beamed brightly at that her little heart understanding, what he had to piece together, immediately.

“I told you Auntie Thea wouldn’t break her promise” she teased before running off to change.

He smiled sadly as he called Lucius. Gods he needed to apologize to his sister.

~Wayne Enterprise~

Slipping unnoticed into her office, and actually beating Tam to work for once, Thea tried to organize her thoughts as best as she could. She most certainly should call Leslie or one of the Justice League's physician but honestly she just didn’t have the energy to do so. She also didn’t presently have a working phone on her which didn’t help the situation any.

It'd be fine, Tam would arrive shortly and she’d call Leslie for her. Maybe she’d even call Kon, Bart, and Cassie too as Thea was too tired to make her heartbeat audible for Kon. She just really wanted sleep.

She also really just wanted to breakdown and cry. Not that she would, or could, but still. If something was going to make her capable of crying again after what the Pit had stolen from her it’d be her brother’s words.

And yet her eyes were as dry as ever.

“He didn’t mean it” she promised herself as she slowly removed the glamor jewelry she was wearing allowing her myriad of injuries to become visible once more.

“We both know he did” her subconscious responded almost sounding heartbroken “and we both know he’s right”

Thea frowned slight as she accepted the facts almost imagining a singular tear sliding down her bruised cheek. She was little more than a doll at this point. Empty and broken yet oh so pretty to look at. No longer even human enough to cry.

Moving towards the small couch she kept in her office she gently lowered herself down. Her meeting with Bruce and Lucius wasn’t for another few hours so she’d be fine to take a small nap. Surely Tam would wake her up when she was needed.

Unfortunately, in her exhaustion, she forgot that Tam wouldn’t be in the office until Wednesday as she was out of town visiting her brother. Which meant Thea would have no real warning for when her own brother(s) showed up.

Though, normally, that wouldn’t necessarily mean anything. Normally she would activate the security settings in her office so only Tam, Kon, Bart, and Cassie could bother her without her permission. Alas, she had forgotten to do so. And the last word Thea muttered before falling asleep on her office couch was “Romalg”

Chapter Text

The first thing Thea thought upon waking up from her much needed nap was “why in the fuck is my office so noisy?” The second thing she thought, immediately after when opening her eyes the barest fraction resulted in a terrible migraine, was “why in Cassie's name is my office so fucking bright?”

Both of these thoughts were, naturally, followed by the realization that she wasn’t presently in her office. Or the Nest, or any of her other numerous apartments/safehouses for that matter, either. And that wherever she was just so happened to be both ungodly noisy and unfathomably bright. So, after a moment of painful concentration she activated her powers, just slightly, to lower the volume and blow the lights.

Unfortunately, and she most certainly would’ve thought of this fact if not for the awful migraine, this informed whomever had been speaking that she was indeed awake. And that lead to the insensitive poking of some asshole who was, very fairly, upset about her ‘stealing’ their voice.

“Give me a minute” she begged in a groggy grumble as she tried to open her eyes again now that the room was much less offensively bright.

It took a bit, several attempts honestly, but eventually she came to her sense enough to realize she was in the Batcave’s medbay. And she was presently surrounded by pretty much the entire Wayne Family plus Oliver, Dinah, and Roy.

Connor was likely still in Star City as he had a legit job these days. Cass and Mia were in Shanghai again visiting friends. And Steph was out of town with her mom she was pretty sure. But everyone else, Wayne or Queen, was there so yay for that.

Kon, Bart, and Cassie would probably be there too if they weren’t off planet at the moment. What? Even when dealing with Ra's and his League, Talia and her League she supposes now, she kept tabs on her friends and boyfriend much like she did her family and the Wayne's. Though how the Justice League successfully managed to convince them to accept an off planet mission when she’d been ‘missing’ she hadn’t a clue about. Probably was a mission dealing with a planet they'd saved as Young Justice or something asinine like that.

Though, and she would think of this much later when her head wasn’t throbbing, she wasn’t actually certain her friends were still off planet. Or, if they were still off planet, how much longer they’d be off planet for. Mostly because, and this was important, she wasn’t sure how long she’d been ‘asleep’ for. At the time she assumed a few hours tops. She would later learn that this assumption was incorrect.

She'd been asleep for almost 3 days.

“I’m going to give you your voices back now” she promised as she took the pain medication offered to her from Alfred “but please watch your volumes as I am pretty sure I have a concussion and I most certainly have a headache”

Slowly the volume of the room returned to normal as she reduced her control over the sound waves themselves. For a moment no one spoke until finally, after what felt like an eternity, Roy took a small step towards the cot she was laying on. The older man took her hand gently his eyes heartbroken as he spoke quietly.

“Thea” he started in what could barely be considered a whisper with how soft it was “I’m so sorry about what I said when you came by. I should’ve listened to you and I should’ve noticed how injured you were”

Thea blinked slowly as his words processed through her ever groggy mind. How did he know of her injuries she wondered quietly before remembering that she’d taken off her glamors before ‘laying down’ for her nap.

Shit.

“I didn’t want you to know” she admitted not looking him in the eyes “I was sloppy when dealing with Ra’s and his League and my injuries were the natural consequences to my hubris”

“But the situation has been rectified and should pose no further threat”

There was a pause as she ignored the looks of those around her to look over her injuries instead. Her arm was in a cast of sorts though it appeared to be almost completely healed which should’ve told her that her nap was far longer than she'd initially realized. Either that or her healing capabilities post Lazarus Pit were much better than even she had realized. Unfortunately, thanks to her possible concussion and certain migraine she didn’t actually register either option. All she registered was that her arm was in a cast thing and that quite a bit of the rest of her was bandaged neatly.

“Thea” someone, either Bruce or Ollie though Thea wasn’t sure as it could've been Jason based on the almost gravelly tone, started “how many times were you exposed to the Lazarus Pits”

Thea paled as the question successfully reached the brain between her ears. There wasn’t anyway they’d know she’d been exposed to the Pits. . .unless. . .turning her head slightly Thea swore aloud as she caught sight of her hair, white as snow, through her peripherals. It was then that she vaguely remembered dropping the glamor in her office under the belief that the room’s security protocol had been properly engaged.

Double shit.

“A few times” she admitted lamely hoping that be the end of that.

Honestly she should’ve known better.

“How many times is a few” Jason demanded loudly his own teal eyes blazing green “how many times did that bastard force you into those Infernal Pits of his”

Thea froze her gaze falling to her non injured hands as she took a small breath. She knew, logically, she could most likely lie her way out of this. But what was the point? They’d learn the truth eventually. As she was coming to realize her ability to go without notice when dealing with the Bats was all bit washed up. Whether that meant they actually cared or not, as they said they did, she wasn’t yet certain.

Also her head hurt like a bitch and she wasn’t certain she could lie convincingly at the moment.

“I” she started silently wishing she could still cry. Gods she wanted to cry just from thinking about Ra’s, and his White Ghost, forcing her into the green depths of the Pits over and over and over again “I stopped counting sometime after a hundred”

The sharp intake of breath reminded her of Kon’s reaction to the news. And Cassie’s reaction to it. Bart’s reaction was, arguably, more tame. Though considering his reaction was to offer to find the corpse of the White Ghost, toss them into a Lazarus Pit, and then rip their reanimated flesh from their body so he could then dump them into a vat of rubbing alcohol and hot sauce, that was debatable. She had appreciated the thought though.

“Thea” someone, she hadn’t a clue who this time, she refused to look up again, started their voice wet and broken as around what Thea assumed was their tears. Whether they were tears of anger or heartbreak Thea wasn’t quite sure “why were you anywhere near Ra’s to begin with”

Crystalline eyes frozen green snapped up at the question the, not quite, anger in them causing everyone around her to flinch. The last time any of them had seen that specific expression on her was after she first went to Dinah after killing the Joker.

It wasn’t a pleasant expression.

“Who else was I supposed to turn to when I realized Bruce wasn’t dead” she demanded her tone colder than Killer Frost’s ice “most of the Justice League believed me to be incredibly dangerous after what happened in Metropolis. How do you imagine they would take it if I started telling them their friend wasn’t dead but lost in time with my only evidence being an old painting and a glitchy camera feed”

At her question the room went silent. It was both an incredible valid thought and an incredibly unfair thought all at the same time. At the very least the Queens, and her old Young Justice teammates, would’ve heard her out. She wouldn’t have been alone.

“I couldn’t afford the League to think I’d lost my mind” she continued her tone almost sad “not after they realized how dangerous I would be if I ever lost control of my powers"

“The League wouldn’t have done anything to you” Dinah countered her voice resolute and confident “we wouldn’t have allowed it”

“I know” Thea acknowledged her voice suddenly so soft it was barely audible “and that’s exactly why I had to handle it on my own”

The full realization of what Thea was saying hit them like a ton of bricks. She hadn’t left because she was worried the League would decide she was a threat that needed to be taken out. She’d left because she was petrified that her family, and her friends, would choose to side with her and get hurt in the crossfire.

She’d made the decisions she did to keep them safe.

“But that doesn’t explain how Ra’s got ahold of you” someone, Roy or Dick, interjected bringing the conversation back to Ra’s and Thea’s white hair.

Thea sighed. There was no getting out of explaining everything she realized sadly. And, as mentioned before, while she could normally consider lying her way out of the conversation doing so would, unfortunately, take far more cognitive effort than her concussion riddled brain was willing or able to exude. Especially with the godawful headache she had on top of it all.

“Ra’s offered his assistance when I was in Paris looking for clues as to where and when Bruce was located” she admitted after deciding to just get the exposition over with “at first it was a one sided partnership. He helped me and,” she paused debating on the wording before deciding to go with the actual words Ra’s used to describe her “in exchange, he got to watch his beloved Detective work”

Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Jason, and Damian all made different horrified expressions at that information. Likely because they knew what the words actually meant contextually.

“And then, in Iraq, I made a mistake” she paused mentally preparing to remember dying in the dessert “let it be said I don’t regret sacrificing my life to protect Pru, Z, and Owens. Nor do I regret spending the last moments I had sending everything I had regarding Bruce’s location to Barbara when I could’ve probably spent that time attempting to prolong or save my own life”

“What I regret is letting my control slip” she finished with a sigh “what I regret is allowing Ra’s to realize that Timothy Drake wasn’t as against killing as he’d initially believed him to be”

Jason swore as he realized exactly what she was implying. As he, and only he, successfully pieced together the puzzle they were all struggling with.

“Ra’s didn’t know” he said his eyes locked on the necklace around Thea’s neck “and the glamor didn’t break”

Thea nodded distantly aware that the rest of the room was figuring out what Jason had already pieced together. Ra’s hadn’t known that Thea and Tim were the same person. And he hadn’t known that the Pit was effecting Thea physically in any way due to the glamor that never broke. And he hadn't known it was effecting her mentally because of how in control of her own emotions she was.

How in control of her own emotions she had to be in order to control her powers to the extent in which she did.

“I’m not entirely sure what it is he wanted” she admitted with a weak smile “Not that it matters anymore, considering he’s dead and gone now”

“Oh, before I forget” she continued turning slightly to look at Damian not noticing how everyone’s jaws had dropped at her mention of Ra’s shockingly legitimate death “Talia asked for me to congratulate you on your most recent art competition. She’s very proud of you for placing and though she believes you were unjustly robbed of the first place prize she was truly impressed by the piece you submitted”

Damian burned scarlet at the praise. And at the realization that his mother had cared enough to keep tabs on him. He hadn’t actually told her that he’d begun competing in art contests which meant that she was keeping tabs on him of her own volition. And though he didn’t win first prize, coming in second overall, she was proud of him and his piece? It was a bewildering thought, but a pleasant one.

“You spoke with Talia” Bruce asked not understanding why she would contact Thea when she could’ve easily contacted him or Damian instead.

“Of course I did” Thea replied yawning as she contemplated going back to bed. The medbay cot wasn’t particularly comfortable and yet the idea of sleep was remarkably enticing. Especially if said sleep helped her with her ever persistent headache “I’ve spent the last week convincing her and the rest of the assholes running the League that despite Ra’s apparent wishes I have no intention of assuming the position of Demon Head. Not now, not ever”

She paused to glance down at her injured body once more before glancing back at Bruce knowing he’d understand the implication of her deliberate movement. Based on the way his frown depend she wagered he wasn’t fond of the realization.

“Some of them required more convincing than others” she admitted with a half shrug that, despite not moving her bad arm, still hurt so very bad “but everyone came around in the end so it’s all good”

“Now” she asked finally without granting anyone the time to ask any more questions “may I please go back to sleep? Everything hurts and I haven’t gotten any real sleep in nearly a week”

There were some nods and words of agreement at the request though Thea didn’t seem to see or hear any of them. Mostly because she’d already closed her eyes but also because the moment her head retouched the pillow she was out like a light. Insomnia apparently didn’t have much on severe sleep deprivation a concussion and a massive headache.

“Why don’t we reconvene in the sitting room upstairs” Alfred offered once fairly certain Thea was actually asleep “that way we don’t risk waking someone in desperate need of rest”

Everyone nodded in intentionally silent agreement before heading towards the stairs. Though, and they would realize and regret this fact later, they forgot one important detail regarding their presently sleeping probably concussed friend/sister/daughter/granddaughter.

They forgot that Thea Drake-Lance-Queen was still very much a flight risk.

Chapter Text

Bruce was pacing the sitting room they’d all settled in. He’d gathered that Thea had gone through some shit in the process of bringing him back but he’d never expected it to be this bad. He’d never expected, or wanted, anyone he cared about to get hurt bringing him back.

And he never thought the reason they’d be put in the situation that ended with them getting hurt to be explicitly his fault.

Sure he could blame Thea's actions on her own special brand of paranoia, but he wouldn’t. Not when it was, as far as he was concerned, his fault the Justice League ever considered her to be a threat in the first place. A fact that, despite making move to fix thar since his return, ate him up at night. Even if he hadn't known Thea was Tim at the time he’d played a pivotal role in the Justice League turning their back on a grief stricken child.

A child that had just lost her niece and several of the most important people in her life back to back.

And yes, technically speaking, Thea Drake-Lance-Queen was quite possibly the most dangerous metahuman on the planet but that wasn’t relevant. She, much like Clark, had never, and would never, willingly endangered civilians or innocents. And while she didn’t have the same moral line he did neither did several other technically dangerous members of the Justice League, including both Diana and Arthur.

Gods he’d fucked that entire situation up.

“First things first” Bruce started organizing his thoughts “is Thea still seeing a therapist? I know the therapist that’d worked with Young Justice retired for health reasons last year but is she seeing anyone for help with this”

Dinah blinked. She hadn’t actually anticipated Bruce of all people asking such a question. She’d heard rumors that he was in therapy these days, and had been since before his ‘death’, but no one had ever successfully verified that. And she hadn’t fully believed it either.

“Yeah” Roy commented eventually “she told me she’s been seeing a Dr. Caroline Hill at some clinic in Gotham for a couple months now”

Alfred, who’d only just returned with some beverages frowned at Mister Harper’s words. Normally he would keep his thoughts to himself, he tried his best not to meddle, but he refused to play a part in Thea's continued isolation.

“While Dr. Hill is a brilliant therapist specializing in Trauma it’s not possible for Thea to be seeing her” Alfred stated calmly before continuing before anyone could interrupt him with their questions “as Dr. Caroline Hill is an alias Thea created some time ago”

Everyone froze as Bruce tapped away at tablet he’d pulled from somewhere. It took a few minutes to gain access into Thea’s files but eventually he was in and swearing creatively.

He vaguely remembered Caroline Hill being created a few years ago. She’d been a med student at GCU studying clinical psychology in hopes of becoming a therapist. It was an alias Thea had used several times throughout her time as Robin though he’d assumed she’d been retired.

He hadn’t been aware that she was still an active alias. Nor had he been aware that, since his return, she’d earned what appeared to be a legitimate doctorate in Clinical Psychology, with a focus on childhood trauma, and was licensed to practice in the state of New Jersey. She was even listed as being an on-call pro-bono specialist at both Dr. Thompkin’s clinic as well as the LGBT+ Youth Shelter Leslie ran with her wife.

“Alfred is right” he informed everyone bitterly “Dr. Caroline Hill has been an active alias since Thea was 14 and while she is indeed brilliant and licensed within the state of New Jersey it would be rather ineffective for her to see herself for therapy”

There was a pause as Bruce’s words set in. Thea had, in less than a year, earned another doctorate. And she hadn’t told anyone about it. And sure one could argue that it was because she likely didn’t consider it ‘hers’ as she’d earned it for an alias, much liker her Masters in toxicology had been earned for a different alias, but that wasn’t the point here.

Dinah, Oliver, and Roy couldn’t help but wonder if they’d hadn’t been told because they’d missed it when she, Thea Drake-Lance-Queen, had earned her first, legitimate, doctorate. They’d been so consumed by the grief of losing Lian that they’d failed to even congratulate her on it until months later. And by then? Well it just felt like it was too late to erase the pain they knew she’d felt at them missing such an important moment in her life.

“Is there anyone we could talk to to get a better understanding of everything” Dick asked pulling “maybe her old team? She’s dating Kon right? Maybe he knows more”

Dinah shook her head silently. While she was certain Kon and Cassie, and the rest of Young Justice, did know more then they did it wasn’t by much. Thea wasn’t particularly forthcoming, not even with Kon, unless directly confronted about something.

“Of all of them Bart might be the only one to be fully in the know” Oliver offered almost reluctantly “and best of luck trying to get him to spill any of Thea’s secrets without her explicit permission”

Bruce, Dick, and Damian all shared a look at that. It didn’t really surprise them that Bart knew more than most, being from the future and all that. But the idea of a Speedster keeping a secret? Absolutely ludicrous.

“Don’t count Zippy out” Jason scolded with a half laugh “kid’s almost as smart as Thea with a brain that works several times faster than anyone in this room. What appears Impulsive to the rest of us has almost always been thought out and planned in excruciating detail by him”

“We have a theory” Roy continued picking up where Jason left off “that the reason he’s so loyal to Thea in particular is because her powers allow her to think at similar speeds effectively making her one of the few people not a Speedster or Super capable of doing so”

Bruce hummed in acknowledgment at that. He, and most of the League, acknowledged how loyal Bart, and the rest of Young Justice, were towards Thea. Even members that had only been among their ranks briefly, like Zachary Zatara, were obscenely loyal to her.

He'd even heard rumors that Lobo, the Czarnian bounty hunter/mercenary, viewed her as a friend and confidant. He hadn't yet verified that particular rumor though.

“Surely there’s someone who knows what she went through while with my grandfather’s League and is willing to talk with us” Damian stated astutely.

Roy and Jason exchanged a look both men thinking of the same person at the same time. A person that the Justice League presently considered, at the very least, a potential security risk.

The person that’d helped them avenge Lian when they’d still believed her to be dead.

“Ifrit might” Jason offered hesitantly at Roy’s nod “when he alerted the Outlaws of the Electrocutioner’s location he’d mentioned her. He’s the only individual that’d been able to confirm she was still alive while she was on her quest to find Bruce”

Bruce frowned before pulling out the secure phone he used for Justice League correspondence. He’d put out an APB out on Ifrit with instructions to have the man brought in, unharmed, for questioning.

They’d get their answers, it’d just take some time.

Unfortunately they didn’t have the time to further consider their options as one of the Batcave’s security alarms started blaring throughout the Manor.

~*~

Let it be stated, on the record, that Thea didn’t plan on ‘making a break for it’ or whatever. She’d actually intended on ‘facing the music’ as it were and even took a much needed nap as promised. After said nap, now freshly recovered from her concussion/headache thanks to her healing factor, she’d begun looking through the various reports she hadn’t read for various reasons on the Batcomputer. Catching up on what she'd missed while waiting for everyone to return.

And then an algorithm she’d created after Kon’s death, but before Bruce’s, alerted her to a potential dimensional fluctuation.

Now, dimensional fluctuations aren’t particularly uncommon. Small ones happen quite frequently, especially when Speedsters are around. But this specific algorithm was designed to watch for a very specific dimensional fluctuation’s signature.

The signature left when Superboy Prime punched his way into their Dimension.

She’d, with the help of Victor, Barry, and Wally, created her algorithm to give her time to prepare for a repeat incident of that awful day. And, if their math was indeed correct, she had an hour or so to get to Metropolis before Superboy Prime managed to make it back to their time/universe.

Sure Kon was off planet but he wasn’t the only half-kryptonian presently alive. And, if the math was correct, she refused to let the bastard do what he’d done to Kon to Jon. She didn’t care if it fully burned every remaining bridge she had within the Hero/Vigilante community she refused to force anyone else to relive that awful day when she had the ability to ensure it such a thing didn’t come to pass.

So she suited up slipping into an unfinished prototype of her Crimson Canary suit while she reactivated the glamor on her necklace. Once ready she turned to make her way towards the Zeta when she remembered that this alternate version of Kal-El didn’t, necessarily, have the same weakness of their earth’s Superman.

Kryptonite hadn’t hurt him in the same way it hurt the Kryptonian’s of their dimension. He was stronger, and faster, than their Kal-El as well with his only confirmed weakness being magic. And she notably wasn’t a spellcaster. In fact she was very much the bane of many magic users thanks to her powers.

But she, technically, had access to an item that could potentially change that.

You see, according to a family legend, the Dragon’s Heart necklace Bruce had nearly gifted to her prior to the incident with Crane granted the Drake wearing it access to the ‘Dragon’s Blood’ within their veins. It would, if the legends were true, make her scream or Canary Cry magical in nature. A fact that could give her the chance she needed to ensure victory against Superboy Prime.

“I’m sorry” she whispered her voice twisting to shatter the bio-lock Bruce had on the safe presently holding the Dragon’s Heart necklace.

Why the man had stored it alongside the original copies of the adoption papers for his children Thea didn’t know but it didn’t matter. Not while she slipped the necklace around her throat, securing it in place as she accessed the Zeta.

Distantly she remembered that this specific safe was linked to the alarm system upstairs, due to the value of its contents, but she didn’t care. No, she would apologize for stealing Bruce’s family heirloom later.

Once she’d ensured that this alternate version of Kal-El couldn't hurt Kon’s little brother or anyone else.

~*~

“Do we have any idea why she would just up and leave like this despite being injured” Dick asked not quite understanding the scene before him.

According to the camera feeds Thea had awoken from her nap about a half hour ago. She’d then spent about twenty or so minutes utilizing the Batcomputer before suddenly, without any clearly identifiable cause, choosing to suit up and depart via Zeta.

The only reason they even knew she left was because she set off the alarm by breaking into one of Bruce's safe. Which didn’t make sense as, as far as he could tell, she didn’t even take anything. And the cameras didn’t catch her looking through it either so he was stumped.

The only other clue they had was an alert still open on the Batcomputer about a Dimensional Fluctuation of sorts.

“If I understand her algorithm correctly” Barbara explained through the Batcomputer's speakers “she was tracking signatures similar to the one left by Superboy Prime when he punched his way into our dimension”

Everyone shared a look at that. Thea was powerful, arguably powerful enough to take on and/or win against Superman himself. But Superboy Prime was quite a bit stronger than their Superman. So why would she be tracking his signature?

“Nothing was stolen from the safe” Bruce confirmed after finishing the inventory “though she did decide to take the Dragon’s Heart with her for some reason”

Dinah froze her eyes widening slightly. Surely the necklace Bruce was referring to wasn’t the one she was thinking of. Surely Thea wasn’t going to risk an unverified legend on a man strong enough to punch a literal hole through the fabric of space time.

Actually, thinking about it, that sounded exactly like something Thea would do.

“When you say Dragon’s Heart do you mean an actual Dragon’s Heart or do you mean the necklace referred to as the Dragon’s Heart” she asked legitimately hoping he meant the former and not the latter.

“It is a necklace” Damian assured her “Father attempted to gift it to Drake to assure her that she was part of our family before the whole Crane Debacle. He has been keeping in the safe to ensure its safety until he had the chance to ensure she knew that her disposing of Crane didn’t change her position in our ranks”

Dinah smiled politely at the younger teen while cursing silently in her head. On the one hand that was incredibly sweet. On the other hand she really wished Bruce would just use his words. Neither of those things mattered at the moment though. Not when her daughter was about to do something incredibly dangerous.

“According to an old Legend told within our family” she started as they tried to locate Thea based on the tracker Bruce had installed into all of the suits, completed or otherwise, still in the cave “wearing the necklace known as the Dragon’s Heart amplifies our abilities while utilizing the Dragon’s blood believed to be within our veins to make them mystical in nature”

Everyone tensed all of them immediately catching on to what Dinah was implying.

“She’s intending on utilizing the necklace to use a Canary Cry” someone stated more so than asked “but is there even any guarantee that legend holds weight”

Dinah shook her head. She hadn’t a clue. Honestly prior to Bruce mentioning it she hadn’t even been aware that the necklace actually existed still I’m the first place. And just because it did exist didn’t mean it wasn’t a copy or that the legend was true.

All she knew for certain was that if, and when, her daughter screamed someone was going to end up dead.

And she couldn’t guarantee that said someone wasn’t going to be her daughter.

Chapter Text

Kal-El of Earth Prime had finally done it. He’d escaped that Infernal time prison he’d been trapped in and found his way back to when he’d been before. Now he could finish his original objective, removing the obstacles that kept him from ruling this new universe, and all would be right with the world.

Punching ones way through space and time isn’t particularly easy but he’d done the math. He’d arrive right in the middle of the school this universe's Kal-El's half-breed son attended. Then, before the ‘heroes’ of this universe ever had the chance to react, he’d break this world’s ‘Superman’ by going after the thing he cared about most. The very thing that made this world’s Kal-El so weak.

He'd go after his son.

He’d actually mistaken the boy from last time, this Earth’s Superboy or whatever, as said son. Evidently he’d merely been a half-assed clone his alternate hardly acknowledged. That being said breaking him, and his friends, had been fun if not an otherwise waste of time.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, he stepped through the rip in space time he’d created and frowned. His math appeared to have been correct, he was in a school yard, but something was wrong. The school was empty save for one singular individual.

A woman examining him with a bored expression plastered on her face.

“Is it safe to assume you’re the individual known as Superboy Prime” she asked her accent one he vaguely recognized. He’d most certainly heard that voice before he just wasn’t sure when.

Not that it mattered as the speaker would be dead soon enough.

~*~

Bruce, Dinah, Oliver, and Damian slipped through Metropolis while following the tracker in Thea’s suit. Bruce had installed trackers into all of Thea’s suits still in the cave, Canary and Robin, after the Crane incident. He’d not quite intended to use them like this but he wasn’t complaining.

Roy and Jason had elected to remain at the Manor with Lian and Alfred. They both wanted to help but with this potentially involving Superboy Prime they’d been out voted. The only reason Damian was allowed to attend was because of the chance that Jon was in danger.

“According to the tracker she’s in the apartments on the top floor” Bruce informed the group as they grappled onto the building.

“If I’m not mistaken” Dinah interjected “this is an apartment she bought for Young Justice to use while on mission near or within the city. Bart said their Metropolis place was across the street from a Greek restaurant”

Bruce nodded having noted the restaurant Dinah was referring to when they’d grappled over. All of Thea’s safe houses and apartments in Gotham were located near restaurants so it made sense that her places elsewhere would follow the same logic.

While Thea’s personal tastes regarding food could be rather. . .eclectic, she always picked fantastic places to eat. One of his fondest memories of Thea as Robin was her pointing out every restaurant, and food truck, they’d past while on patrol and telling him random facts about their menu. At the time he thought she’d just been making things up but he could state, for a fact, that she’d never once been wrong in any of her observations.

In another life she was probably an incredibly talented food critic/blogger or something.

“The security has been disengaged” Damian informed them snapping Bruce from his thoughts as the four of them slipped inside the apartment.

It wasn’t until they’d entered the living room, as a group, that any of them remembered that Thea was far too smart to allow herself to be tracked like that. And that was a fact they only realized when they spotted young Jonathan Kent, or Jon-El, sitting on the couch watching cartoons while eating a sandwich.

With Thea’s Canary Jacket, with Bruce’s tracker sitting securely within its pocket, draped over his shoulders like a blanket.

“We’ve got to go before” Oliver swore as they all heard the security system of the apartment engaged “that happens”

“Did she really use the half Kryptonian as bait” Damian asked with a tsk that notably lacked all venom. He’d deny it but he was impressed by the subterfuge, even though it agitated him.

“I have a name you know” Jon snapped “and you’re implying that I wasn’t in on the plan”

"Thea promised me all the ice cream I can eat if I help"

Damian arched a brow before the Kryptonian, only a few years (physically) younger than himself, clicked a button on the TV remote. His cartoons vanished to be replaced by a camera view of Thea sitting atop a bench in the yard behind Jon’s school. She was wearing her Canary suit, minus the jacket, and appeared to be on the phone with someone.

Or at least she had been on the phone with someone. She seemed to register that they were observing her and ended her call before doing something with her gauntlet. Suddenly the camera feed they were watching had audio.

“Under the assumption that you can hear me please send Jon-El and Robin into the other room” she implored politely “and Robin please make sure that Jon-El puts in the headphones I gave him earlier”

The adults in the room, Dinah, Oliver, and Bruce all exchanged a look at that. And then, remembering why Thea had come to Metropolis in the first place, they shared a nod before doing as she asked. Under no circumstances did any of them want Jon, or Damian, to see what was about to happen.

The Kal-El Thea would be going against might not be the man Jon knew but he certainly had the same face as Jon's father Kal. And watching him die, or kill, would be traumatic to the young boy.

It’d likely be traumatic for them as well.

~*~

“And who exactly are you supposed to be” Kal-El Prime demanded his purple tinted eyes flaring with annoyance at the girl’s bored attitude.

The girl hummed in thought before speaking.

“My name isn’t particularly relevant” she teased smirking as he growled in irritation in response “but I suppose one could argue that I’m you’re welcoming committee”

The large Kryptonian scoffed before taking a half step towards the girl. He’d intended on snapping her neck in a single moment but something was preventing him from moving any further than that singular half step.

“Why can’t I move” he demanded not quite understanding.

The girl laughed the pleasant bell like sound far too unhinged to be normal. If it was possible for him to fear a mortal he’d likely would’ve shivered in response. But, as the strongest being in existence, he would never do such a thing.

“You see Kal” the girl teased the lenses on her domino falling away to reveal icy eyes “in your universe you are the strongest being in existence”

Kal felt pride bloom in his chest at the admission. He was already. aware he was the strongest being there was. But hearing it still felt nice.

“But here, in this universe” the girl continued her lips quirking up to a slight smile “you’re just a pretty strong Kryptonian”

He blinked as the woman stood up from where she’d been seated. A shiver, that he would deny having, went up his spine as she squared up against him without an ounce of fear in her posture. She was a mortal aware of who he was and yet she wasn’t afraid? That meant she was either incredibly stupid or unimaginably dangerous.

And he was nearly certain she wasn’t stupid.

“Kal-El of Earth Prime” the girl began her voice echoing in his ears painfully “for your attempted crimes against this Earth’s Superman and his family the President of the United States and the Political Entity that is NATO have decreed you cannot remain on this Earth”

Kal laughed uproariously at that. Mere mortal politicians believed they could tell him what he could and couldn’t do? And how, pray-tell, would they enforce such a verdict? Even if they had the power to do so, which they don’t, his universe no longer existed.

“You think mere ants can tell a God where he can and can’t go”

Crystalline eyes flashed with a emotion he didn’t recognize as the girl smiled at him. It was a cruel and cold expression that felt out of place on such an otherwise pretty face.

“You misunderstand me Kal” she said her eyes glittering with that mysterious emotion “you won’t be going anywhere”

“Because there wont be anything left of you when I’m done”

He froze suddenly very much afraid of the woman before him. Something in the way she’d said that reminded him of a girl from the last time. The bitch that had protected the abomination of the House of El.

A girl that damn near stopped him with nothing more than a clap.

“Wait” he pleaded suddenly certain he’d lose whatever fight was about to happen “we can talk this out”

The girl laughed again the bell like sound of it assaulting his ears and making his head hurt.

“We could” she agreed smiling with far too many teeth for it to ever be believably sincere “but I’d much rather just scream”

She spread her stance, her dominate leg raking a half step back, and inhaled. Kal-El of Earth Prime felt his blood run cold, for the first time since he’d come into his powers, the world became deathly quiet. Not that it remained quiet for long.

For in the next moment the girl screamed.

~*~

“You don’t think” Oliver asked when Thea announced that there wouldn’t be anything left of Kal-El Prime when she was done “she wouldn’t would she”

Dinah nodded hesitantly their fears confirmed as the audio cut out on the footage. They both knew what was about to happen and it was incredibly dangerous. They also weren’t even sure it was actually possible.

“What’s happening” Bruce demanded not understanding what was they were seeing.

Kal-El Prime had taken a half step back, as if something had hit him hard, but they couldn’t see what’d hit him. Something was hurting him but Bruce hadn’t a clue what that something was. He was aware that Thea was screaming but he'd seen footage of her utilizing her scream, in a training environment, and it wasn’t anything like this.

“She’s going Supersonic” Dinah explained her tone laced with concern “making the frequency of her Canary Cry so high that it can slip into the very atoms of those caught in its crossfire”

Bruce felt his eyes widen. He hadn’t been aware such a thing was even possible. He hadn’t even been aware that was even something theoretically feasible. And yet, before their very eyes, Thea’s scream was beginning to do considerable amounts of damage on the Kryptonian before her.

And then the Kryptonian to a half step forward and they all felt their hearts plummet. If he managed to close the distance between them this could very quickly turn in his favor. One of the few, major, weaknesses of the Canary Cry is that one can’t physically move much while doing it.

In other words, Thea was a sitting duck.

~*~

Kal-El grunted as he felt the girl’s scream slice through him. It hurt worse than anything he’d ever experienced or imagined. But he refused to submit. He merely needed a single moment and he’d be able to break free.

He was sure of it.

Forcing his body to move against the waves of sound assaulting his body was agonizing. But he’d managed to do it. One foot, after another, until he’d closed about half the distance between the two of them. Just a little more and he’d be free to commence with his plan to replace this Earth’s Superman.

And then the girl’s icy eyes turned black as green slivers cracked the skin around them as her scream intensified launching him backwards.

~*~

Dinah paled as Thea’s appearance shifted live on camera. The glamor necklace around her throat must’ve broken she realized as Thea’s hair shifted from midnight black to snowy white. But that wasn’t what gave Dinah pause, it was the shift around her eyes.

She, like Bruce and Oliver, had expected them to shift green. They hadn’t anticipated them turning completely black. They hadn’t anticipated green web like cracks to appear around them or for her face to gain a more 'skeletal' look to it.

She hadn’t anticipated her daughter becoming a beloved of Nekron.

“No” she whispered as silent tears cascaded down her face.

She’d anticipated the impossibility of the Dragon's Heart actually working. It hadn’t been likely but it’d been possible. Thea awakening as a Banshee however? She’d never anticipated such a thing.

And the implications of it happening broke her heart.

Dinah had met many ‘Banshees’ over the years including, namely, Silver Banshee. But these ‘Banshees’ were often closer to Canaries than the Banshees of death spoken about in myth.

With exactly one exception.

Jeanette, of the mostly retired Secret Six, was a woman born to family of impoverished nobiles in France several hundred years ago. She’d grown up witnessing countless deaths while working as the ‘servant’ to a murderess Countess. She’d then died several years later after being betrayed by her, at the time, husband.

Nekron however had decided that he liked the ‘scent of death’ that followed her and made her a true Banshee. Technically immortal, or incredibly difficult to kill anyway, her powers were still remarkably similar to the abilities of Dinah and Silver Banshee.

Sure she was physically stronger, the woman had once ripped King Shark’s arm off without any effort after all. And sure she was, more or less, immortal. But her powers were still sonic based and she still ‘screamed’ like the rest of them.

Only calling it a ‘scream’ wouldn’t be entirely honest. For, unlike Dinah and Silver Banshee, it would be more apt a description to call Jeanette’s ‘scream’ a ‘wail’.

A Banshee Wail was, unlike Dinah’s Canary Cry and Silver Banshee’s Banshee Scream, was mystical in nature. According to Jeanette herself it forced those caught in its sound waves to experience the literal death of the Banshee that was Wailing. It was agonizing in a way neither her nor Silver Banshee’s screams were and could, quite literally, break the mind of those caught within it.

Jeannette’s Wail was brutal enough to incapacitate Wonder Woman herself and she’d only, technically, died once. Thea had died, at least, a hundred times. If Dinah's assumption was correct and she’d truly awoken as a Banshee like Jeanette her Wail would be next level.

Worse still, going on how Thea’s Wail was affecting Superboy Prime, Dinah would wager that Thea was able to utilize her Wail in tandem with her own natural meta powers. She’d hit him with a Supersonic ‘Scream’ made of pure magic and unfiltered agony. She hit him with every ounce of pain she’d felt through all of her many, many, deaths all at one time and was ripping the virtually impervious alternate-dimension Kryptonian apart at the molecular level.

By the time she was done there wasn’t anything left of the man once known as Superboy/Kal-El Prime. There wasn’t even ash.

And yet that wasn’t the reason behind Dinah’s tears. You see, thanks to Jeanette, Dinah was acutely aware of the ‘price’ required to utilize one’s Banshee’s Wail. And it wasn’t a price she’d ever wish upon anyone, especially not her own daughter.

A Banshee’s Wail didn’t hurt the user in the same way it did those caught within its sound waves. But using it was still very much a double edge sword.

Superboy/Kal-El Prime died experiencing the agony Thea had felt thorough each of her many deaths all at once. But he wasn’t alone in his experience. Because while utilizing their Banshee Wail the Banshee in question was forced to relieve the pain of their death(s) just like their victims.

And while knowing that fact is what kept Dinah from having a full on panic attack when Thea collapsed after completing her Wail it didn’t ease the way her heart broke at the tear tracks visible on her unconscious daughter’s face.

“Shit” Bruce swore pulling Dinah back to reality as an the shadow of an unknown individual entered the camera shot.

Thea was unconscious and therefore unprotected. And now she was being approached by someone that, going on how quickly they’d managed to arrive, was most certainly dangerous. Yet they were stuck unable to do anything but watch while as none of them knew how long the room would continue to remain in lock down.

“Fuck you look good with white hair” a the unknown stated with a whistle as the speaker walked into shot “perfect dame for the Main Man himself”

Lobo, last known Czarnian and bounty hunter extraordinaire, entered the camera’s shot his signature look easy to recognize anywhere. He approached Thea casually, evidently not even remotely concerned about the dangerous implications of how thoroughly she’d destroyed Superboy-Prime, but stopped just shy of standing directly on top of her.

Bruce, Oliver, and Dinah all tensed as the large Czarnian lunatic bent down and picked Thea up as if she weighed nothing. They tensed further as he made eye contact with the camera setup and smiled at them before flipping them off and destroying the camera without another word.

“Was he not Thea's friend” Bruce asked his tone tight.

“Slobo was her friend” Dinah explained as calmly as she could “he was a younger version of Lobo formed from a drop of his blood”

Oliver nodded. They’d liked Slobo. He’d been weird and off the walls, like the rest of Young Justice, but he’d been a good kid. Slobo was a dearly missed friend of both Thea and the rest of their team.

“But when he fused with his ‘original’ body all of his memories were erased” Oliver explained as he reached out to squeeze Dinah’s hand.

They hadn’t a clue what was running through Lobo’s head. And there was an incredibly long and horrifying list of individuals brazen enough to hire Lobo to abduct someone as powerful as Thea.

He very well could be taking her to Darkseid himself.

Or he could be taking her out to coffee.

Honestly none of them had a clue.

Chapter Text

The first thing Thea noticed when she awoke was that she was no longer in Metropolis. She was in Young Justice Safe House #38 located maybe an hour away from Happy Harbor, Rhode Island near what she was told was the greatest crab shack in the known universe. And while she couldn’t personally attest to their crab, as she avoided shellfish after a bad incident with shrimp as a child, she could confirm that their fish and chips meal was absolutely top tier.

It had been Slobo's favorite of all of their Safe Houses.

“You’re awake” a voice she'd recognize anywhere called catching her attention.

“Lobo” she greeted immediately on the defensive.

They hadn’t spoken more than a handful of times since Slobo fused with the primary body of Lobo several years ago. And they hadn’t interacted at all since it came to light that Lobo hadn’t retained any of Slobo’s memories. Though their time as a team had been short she’d once considered Slobo one of her closest friends. She missed the days of working on tech and pranks together.

“Ya know” the Czarnian bounty hunter started with a smirk “its pronounced Slobo when I’m with my friends”

Thea blinked as her brain processed the words of the man before her. And then she all but launched herself at him for a hug earning a round of laughter from the larger man.

“You remember us” she declared her surprise and joy both evident in her tone “since when?”

Lobo, no Slobo, hummed in thought as he tried to pinpoint the exact moment he regained his memories. He’d been fulfilling a bounty for the Tameranian Prince Wildfire, capturing his bat-shit crazy older sister Blackfire, when he’d been literally punted into a Pit of Truth. Evidently Slobo’s personality and memories, though buried by Lobo’s had been determined to be his own personal ‘truth’. With that he regained his lost memories, and personality, and was back to what he evidently believed to be his ‘truest’ self.

That’d happened a few months ago but he’d hadn’t had a chance to tell anyone until about a week ago. He’d ran into Kon, Bart, and Cassie while they were off planet on some Justice League Mission. After some catching up it was decided that Slobo should stop by Earth and have a conversation with Thea. They were pretty sure it’d help.

“What exactly is a Pit of Truth” Thea asked after he finished explaining everything.

“Oh that’s right you Earthlings call them something different here” Slobo laughed as he lit a cigar up “you’d know them better as a Lazarus Pit”

Thea blinked. Surely Slobo was wrong on that. Exposure to the waters of a Lazarus Pit warped one’s personality. It drove people, albeit temporarily, insane and eroded their morals and inhibitions. It took the worst, and the best, aspects of one’s personality and twisted it to new heights.

How was that truth?

“You’re thinkin about it too hard Nary” Slobo teased as he flicked her on the forehead “remove yourself from the equation while considering the changes you’ve noticed in people exposed to them waters”

Thea frowned but did as the older man asked. She removed herself from the situation at looked at what she knew objectively. And she compared it to the information she now had regarding Slobo’s changes post dip in a Pit. She wasn’t sure if the fact that the Pit he’d been in had been on Tameran, and not Earth, would effect the results though.

She decided to assume it wouldn’t based on Slobo’s statements. Not that it mattered much considering her results made little to no sense. Everyone she knew that’d been exposed to the Pit had such drastically different reactions. There was no notable commonality.

Jason went from a scrawny teen to a buff cross between Bruce and Dick with anger issues and emotional maturity. Ra’s didn’t change physically, as far as she was aware, but gained more of an ego and less of a moral compass with every dip. Slobo experienced no outward change but regained lost memories and personality traits.

And she gained the body she’d always dreamed of but often found herself in a raging sea of conflicting almost contradicting emotions.

“I don’t understand” she admitted after several minutes of trying to find the similarity Slobo had insinuated.

The large man finished his cigar before moving to sit across from her. He had an almost playful expression, one she recognized from when he’d been in his younger body and working alongside Young Justice. It was the look he gave when he decided he wanted to help someone but fully intended on teasing them about needing his help later.

“When Condom Head went in the Pit who or what did he most desire to be” Slobo asked as he arched an eyebrow.

Thea blinked in genuine surprise. Surely it couldn’t be that simple. Surely the reason Jason didn’t gain the body of a tank and the emotional maturity Bruce lacked purely because he wanted to be someone Bruce would be proud of? Surely he didn’t get a watered down version of Dick’s not quite famous temper because he idolized the older vigilante for being able to ‘speak his mind’ around Bruce without hesitation.

Surely it wasn’t that simple.

But what if it was?

That could explain why Ra’s lost his mind a little with every dip. He wanted nothing more than to live forever but coincidentally was so narcissistic he couldn’t imagine a flaw in his mortal physicality. So as he inevitably continued to age, despite the Pit’s influence, it could’ve caused a mental break. Not because of the Pit didn’t work on him but because his own narcissism limited what the Pit could actually influence.

And Lobo re-became Slobo because he subconsciously missed his time with Young Justice. By viewing the person he’d been as his ‘ideal self’ he regained his blocked memories and the friends he’d cherished.

But if all of that was true than what did it say about Thea? She understood the physical aspects of what’d changed about her, she had the body she'd always dreamed she would, but not the mental aspects. She felt like a kaleidoscope of emotions without any set or permanent image. Like her emotions were turned to an 11 but changed to fit whatever capacity she found herself in regardless of her personal opinion on the situation.

It was almost as if she’d chosen to be. . .no, surely that wasn’t possible.

“Figured it out Nary” Slobo confirmed more than asked with a chuckle.

“Perfection isn’t possible Slobo” she countered with an eye roll “I would know I’ve been pursuing it in vain my entire life”

Slobo nodded as if agreeing before making a cheesy ‘aha’ face like he’d just thought of something she’d missed.

“Perfection might not exist but your conception of it does” he offered with a smirk “and after a hundred plus dips I’d wager you’re as close to perfect as any human could ever dream”

“at least whenever you believe you need to be anyway”

Thea froze as she processed the truth lacing beneath his words. Perfection wasn’t obtainable but, according to Slobo, the Pit didn’t work on universal truths but the individual’s perception of them. So her idea of Perfection was the only one that mattered. And the fact that she had multiple contradicting opinions on Perfection didn’t matter because she’d been submitted to the Pit’s depths far more times than most individuals.

Suddenly a lot of things made sense. Mood swings that she couldn’t explain. Reactions that didn’t make logical sense but fit the situation. Ruthlessness where she would’ve previously chosen mercy.

Thea Drake-Lance-Queen was, in the opinion of many, the ‘perfect’ business woman and the ‘perfect’ high-society darling. Brilliant and cunning, adored by those working for her and feared by those working against her. She always appeared cool and collected even when she was in fact falling apart. An invoable mask and 'perfect' doll trained to give false smiles and empty platitudes without ever showing vunerability or weakness.

Canary, though mostly retired, was what she considered to be the ‘perfect’ vigilante. She protected those she cared about, and those who couldn’t protect themselves. And if that meant ensuring the threat was taken care of permanently she was willing to do so without regret or remorse. She was witty and charming, like Robin, but could be cold and calculating at the drop of a hat.

And then there Ifrit. Ifrit was able, and willing, to do most anything to complete the job. They avoided hurting innocents, and heroes, when they could but if necessary they weren’t above harming either. All that mattered was eliminating the threat and completing the job. Ruthless and efficient they were, in the words of Amanda Waller, the perfect Assassin/Soldier.

“Is there anyway to undo it” she asked after a moment “anyway to undo the mental changes caused by exposure to the Pit’s waters”

Slobo shrugged, he hadn’t a clue. Prior to this moment no one, as far as he was aware, had ever even considered such a thing. It was his understanding that the ‘changes’ were permanent though he imagined ‘therapy’ could help to some extent.

It’d led to some changes with the one Slobo knew as Condom Head anyway.

“Fuck” Thea swore earning an amused smirk from the older merc. He’d only ever heard Thea swear once or twice ever and he found the accent she had while doing so to be amazing.

“What’s the plan Nary” he asked as he stretched. He had finished what he’d come to do but he still wanted to check in, as her friend. Not that he’d ever admit that out loud.

Thea sighed. If she was thinking logically she’d tell him she’d return home and explain everything to her parents and Bruce. She’d apologize for her recent behavior and hope they’d choose to forgive her and accept who she was now.

Unfortunately she wasn’t thinking logically. She had merely just remembered that she’d ‘dipped out’ on Amanda Waller, the mother fucking Wall, gods knows how many days ago and the woman was likely considering sending an army to ‘rectify’ that.

Giving Slobo a hug goodbye she found the spare burner phone she kept in this specific safe house and called her not quite boss for an extract. Then she changed out of her Bat tampered Canary suit and into one of the suits she kept at the safe house.

She wasn’t avoiding her problems, she wasn’t. She was just ensuring Amanda Waller’s infamous temper didn’t join her ever growing list of problems. That’s all.

And if that gave her an excuse to not face the music just yet than that was no one’s business but hers.

Several Hours Later

“You are lucky you and your team are valued assets” Waller swore as they walked through her compound “because if you weren’t”

Thea fought the eye roll and sighed. They’d been having this ‘conversation’ for over an hour.

“Manda” she interjected cutting the older woman off with the nickname she’d given her years ago when they’d first met at a function Jack had taken her to when she was a toddler “I can assure you my disappearance wasn’t intentional”

“Who gives a shit about your disappearance” Waller snapped angrily denying that she cared about Thea “I’m talking about you killing yet another Superman wannabe without talking to me about it first”

Thea sighed. That was fair. Though, in her defense, this was the first Superman she’d actually killed. She couldn’t be held culpable for not stopping Bart when he decided to handle the last alternate dimension Superman, Ultraman or whatever his name was, to decide their universe was ‘ripe for the taking’. Besides what exactly would Waller have had her do to stop Bart from what he’d decided to do?

She’d hardly managed to convince Bart to wash his hands after he removed the man's still beating heart from his chest for threatening their family for fucks sake.

“I promise the next time an evil Kryptonian from another universe decides to attack I’ll let you know before we handle it” she promised half lamely earning a small chuckle from the older woman.

“At the very least ensure there’s a body for my scientists to examine after next time”

Thea laughed suddenly insanely grateful for the fact that she’d never felt the need to appear ‘perfect’ around Amanda Waller. As weird as it was that made working with her almost enjoyable. Plus the mere thought of someone trying to meet up to the Wall’s impossible standards made her dizzy. Janet had impossible enough standards and Waller made those look easy by comparison.

But, to her, Amanda Waller was just an old friend of her late father. She was the woman that had babysat her while testing her meta abilities after they'd first awoken when she was 3. And while she was, technically, her boss the fact remained that, to Thea, she was just Manda and she felt no need to appear perfect around her, even when in the mask.

So small victories and all that.

“Anyway” Waller continued as they walked through her facility her previous lecture thankfully forgotten “I have one last mission for you before I sign off on your requested retirement”

Thea nodded. She’d put in her unofficial notice shortly after the incident with Crane. As much as she enjoyed being a hero/vigilante/assassin she really wanted to give being a, relatively, normal adult a try. Maybe take a few college classes for legit fun instead of to make her a better hero/vigilante/assassin.

And if being a student didn’t sound appealing she had like at least 6 different offers to teach at University she could consider.

Either way she was tired. Tired of the danger her ‘job’ put those she cared about in. Tired of how her mere existence put a huge target on their backs as a way to get to her. A fact that was made significantly worse by the fact that most of the people she cared about were heroes/vigilantes/assassins in their own right and already had targets on their back.

“I take it your agents found the ringleader” she asked as Waller handed her a tablet with the mission debrief.

Waller nodded. They’d finally found where the leader of the anti-meta organization they’d been taking down was. Only, of all of the people on the planet this was not someone Thea or Waller had anticipated being a player in this.

“You have got to be kidding me” she swore honestly debating throwing the tablet in her hand “really Manda him? You’re sure?”

Waller nodded tightly. She hadn’t anticipated this specific development either. She also didn’t exactly know how this was going to go.

On the one hand Thea could win by going Supersonic the way she had against Superboy-Prime. On the other hand they hadn’t a clue if that would work either as, unlike Superboy-Prime, this man was rumored to be legitimately immortal.

“We don’t need you to fight or kill him” Waller stated as if that made the situation better “just distract him long enough for my agents to ensure his organization is brought to its knees”

Thea frowned. Honest to Cassie she wasn’t sure that was feasible either. Thankfully, with her newly amped powers, he shouldn’t be able to kill her. That being said he was, without a doubt the better combatant.

Or the more experience combatant anyway.

“I’ll do my best Manda but I make no promises” she stated as she turned to head towards the changing room.

It was time to test how ‘perfect’ a weapon Ifrit really was.

And maybe, if there was time, they'd find out if Vandal Savage was truly immortal or not.

Chapter Text

Metropolis

Bruce was fighting the urge to strangle Ollie. They’d been stuck in Thea's Metropolis apartment for almost 6 hours and no one knew how much longer they’d be stuck there. And when asked why he didn’t know the parameters of Thea's security protocols Ollie just shrugged and said he ‘forgot’ to ask. Which would be fine if he didn’t also imply that Queen Manor had the same security protocol installed for similar reasons.

“I just don’t understand why you never thought to ask how long the protocol lasted” he explained trying his best not to throttle his childhood friend.

Ollie shrugged again a small smirk tugging on his lips when Bruce’s eye twitched in response.

“Did you ask when she designed a similar protocol for the Cave and Watchtower” he asked his smirk growing into a smile at the almost imperceptible way Bruce’s eyes widened in response.

“The Batcave” Bruce swore as he moved to grab the tablet that controlled most of the smart tech in the apartment “how did I miss that”

Swearing up a storm he typed in the override code the Batcave used for its security. And then he swore again as the protocol disengaged.

“She’s clearly improved upon our original design” he explained at the confused looks given to him by Dinah and Ollie “but I should’ve noticed the similarities”

He’d designed the Batcave’s security himself with some Wayne Tech. But, shortly after her return from her ‘training’ he still had so many questions about, he’d redesigned it from scratch with Thea. And they’d intentionally installed a failsafe in case the protocol was ever triggered by mistake. A failsafe she had evidently kept around for her personal version of the protocol.

And, once again, he’d failed to remember that Thea was his Robin and ended up missing critical information as a result.

“What’s the plan Father” Damian asked as he and Jon rejoined the adults in the main room.

Bruce frowned. He didn’t have a plan, not really. Did he have Clark try to locate Lobo while they focused on locating Ifrit or did they put all of their attention to finding Lobo? He hadn’t a clue and that, being uncertain, made him nervous.

Dinah's phone ringing broke him out of his spiral.

“Hey sweetheart is everything alright” Dinah asked the words unfortunately failing to clue Bruce in on whom she was speaking with “I see, that’s wonderful news. Thank you for telling me. Fly safe and we’ll see you guys soon. Yeah family dinner the weekend after next"

Bruce arched a brow as Dinah hung up her phone and turned to face them again. And then he felt himself relax as she spoke effectively making his choice for him.

“Slobo regained his memories” she stated smiling warmly “Kon, Bart, and Cassie sent him to check up on Thea so she’s safe with him”

“They’ve just finished their mission and should be Earthside by the end of the week”

Bruce nodded smiling slightly at the news. It was, objectively, good news. It also meant that they, the Justice League as a whole, could focus on locating Ifrit.

Preferably sooner rather than later.

A Few Days Later

Let it be known that visiting the private island of Vandal Savage not as Ifrit but Thea Drake-Lance-Queen was an incredibly stupid idea. Thea knew this. But it was also the easiest way to go about things when one considered that she, Thea, had an actual invite where as Ifrit didn’t.

Looking being the not so secret owner of the largest Villain/Rogue friendly store in the world, with sister shops in multiple major cities, had some perks. How she continued to manage to get away with being the ‘elusive’ owner of T’s Costume on 3rd and Parkway was forever a mystery to her but it was useful. Thea, the ever brilliant business woman, was a beloved ‘neutral’ party in the ever waging war between Heroes and Villains.

Which, considering Thea technically ‘played for both teams’ as the woman behind the Crimson Canary and Ifrit it wasn’t quite out of character for her. But it was still weird that no one in the hero community seemed to know she was the owner of T’s Costume on 3rd and Parkway.

It wasn’t like she was trying to hide it after all. Like 95% of the Legion of Doom knew she owned it. And an estimated of 85% of all goons in the US knew she owned it as well. And the ones who didn’t were either a piece of absolute shit or they were goon’s that weren’t yet part of the Goon Union. And if the latter they were likely super new to being a Goon as most joined the Union within a few months or so as nearly all goons wanted the insurance provided.

What? Most people only turned to being a Goon because they absolutely needed to. Ensuring that they had access to medical care despite everything else was the absolute least she could do.

All of that to say, she, Theadora Drake-Lance-Queen had access to resources that no one else in her situation had. Resources that allowed her to do things that should be otherwise impossible. Things like getting an invite to a super exclusive party on the most secure island on the planet for a party hosted by the man quite possibly responsible for the existence of Meta-humans.

They were the resources that allowed her access to Vandal Savage’s inner sactum.

“Miss Drake” the deep timbre of Vandal Savage himself called as he came down to meet her personally “I do hope your flight wasn’t too awful”

Icy blue eyes met the deep brown of Vandal Savage as Thea smiled politely her midnight black hair pinned carefully atop her head. She was wearing a sleek ivory gown that complimented her pale complexion and sleek stilettos. A small clutch was held in her left hand while her right ‘played’ with the nonexistent necklace around her shockingly bare throat.

“Your jet was rather comfortable” she admitted honestly with a playful smile as she took the older man’s offered arm “though I must admit I was caught off guard by your sudden invite”

That wasn’t technically a lie. Though, honestly speaking, she’d expected him to reach out to Ifrit and not Thea.

“I will admit desiring to send such an invite was a surprise to me as well” Vandal retorted his hand almost gentle on Thea’s lower back as he leaned far closer than was strictly necessary “its not everyday someone manages to catch my attention after all”

“Surely you jest Vandal” Thea teased as she moved to separate herself from the older man “what could someone so much younger than you possibly do to catch your attention”

A strong hand tightened around her waist as Vandal, a man evidently as creepy as Ra’s, leaned in closer still.

“would you like an itemized list my sweet” he all but growled his mouth practically flush against her neck “Canary”

Thea froze her blood running cold at the word. How did he possibly know that she was the Crimson Canary? She’d taken special care to ensure that such information was kept a secret. Not even Ra’s, or anyone within his League of Assassins, had known. So how?

And why couldn’t she move?

“You’re a rather brilliant woman Theadora” Vandal praised his voice almost sweet as he escorted her throughout the building he called home “but not even you are omniscient”

Thea blinked not quite understanding what was happening until, suddenly, it all hit her like a brick. Neither she nor Waller understood why Vandal Savage of all people had a vendetta against meta-humans. Waller presumed he was afraid of them because one could, potentially, kill him.

But Thea didn’t agree with that theory. You don’t spend as much time, or money, as Vandal had over something as benign as fear. Vandal was thousands upon thousands of years old. He didn’t fear people. Further more if he had been afraid of his victims it would’ve been less organized. No it almost looked like he had been researching them.

Oh.

Fuck.

“It was quite difficult to manufacture something that could block your powers” Vandal explained confirming Thea’s worst fears as they walked past a room full of what appeared to be a generator “hundreds if not thousands of lives sacrificed to make this possible”

Thea paled as Vandal opened a door leading to another room. She tensed as she felt Vandal’s guiding hand leading her into it. She wasn’t quite sure what the room was used for. There was a tree of sorts in the center of it but past that it was all but empty save for a few dozen fur blankets thrown haphazardly about.

“I don’t understand” she admitted ‘stumbling’ slightly to grant her the time necessary to activate her distress beacon without being caught only to remember that she wasn’t wearing it as her outfit didn’t allow for any jewelry, not even a panic button “what’s exactly is your goal Vandal? Even with your tech I don’t actually think I’m physically capable of dying”

Vandal laughed, the deep sound of it causing her to tense ever so slightly. It was a laugh that reminded her of Ra’s back when he was trying to ‘bed’ her.

“I don’t intend to hurt you my sweet Canary” he assured her softly.

A hand moved to caress her face while dark eyes glittered with false fondness in the dim light. A knee collided with the immortal’s sensitive bits granting Thea the chance to make a break for it. Running in heels wasn’t particularly difficult but there was a difference between running in heeled boots and expensive stilettos and unfortunately she was wearing the latter. That plus the fact that she was fighting without her powers, and the fact that she was too busy freaking out to remember the layout of the location, put her at a serious disadvantage.

Which led to Vandal catching up to her in quite possibly the worst location imaginable, the room that was quite possibly his actual bedroom if the large bed was any indicator. She didn’t even have the chance to scream when a strong hand wrapped around her throat and slammed her against the nearest wall

“I intend to take you as my bride”

The Watchtower - A Few Hours Ago

Bruce stared at the screen before him his brow knit together in frustration. The files before him didn’t make any fucking sense and yet he’d personally verified their accuracy. It was. . .frustrating.

Ifrit had gone from a world class thief who avoided conflict whenever possible to one of the most dangerous men on the planet in under a year. Prior to the incident with the late Electrocutioner the most he’d ever hurt anyone was by accidently breaking Kid Flash’s ankle once. And yet, for reasons no one could figure out, they were now targeting civilians.

It didn’t make sense.

Furthermore he couldn’t figure out why the civilians targeted by Ifrit had been chosen. The only similarities he could find is that they all had some sort of tie to high ranking global politicians. But excluding one individual, whom they’d managed to save, none of them were close enough to their political tie to make them a logical mark. There were no spouses or children, or even siblings, on the list of dead.

Just distant cousins they might’ve met once or twice at a family reunion.

He was missing something, he was sure of it, but he couldn’t place what. Hal had jokingly suggested that Ifrit’s goal might be purely to undercut the public’s trust in the Justice League. And while it didn’t sound like what they knew of Ifrit he was beginning to wonder if she was right.

“Bruce” Clark called entering the intelligence room his expression tight Bruce’s phone in his outstretched hand “I’ve got Jay on the line. He says it’s urgent”

Bruce frowned. He’d hadn’t slept since Thea’s ‘battle’ with Superboy Prime and was beginning to worry it was affecting his performance. He hadn’t even realized his phone wasn’t on him. Thank goodness it’d been Clark that’d found it and not literally anyone else.

He wasn’t quite sure how to explain why his phone’s background was a picture of Hal Jordon out of costume. Sure Dick had been the one to put it there as a way to tease him but he could’ve changed it at any time.

He just. . .hadn’t gotten to it. He’d change it. . .eventually. . .maybe.

“Hood” he greeted as he took the phone from Clark “report”

There was a pause as Jason took a breath. Likely out of annoyance at his use of the ‘Batman voice’ though he wasn’t completely certain. Sometimes Jason just chose to take a moment to collect himself.

“One of my contacts got back to me” Jason explained eventually “we’ve got a hit on Ifrit”

“Now before you even think about suiting up know that Dickiebird and the Titans are already in route to intercept”

Bruce frowned. He didn’t like that he was, quite literally, being told to sit on the sidelines but he wouldn’t fight it. Partially because he trusted Dick and his team to handle it appropriately but also because he REALLY needed to sleep. A fact that was not presently being proven by the way Clark was gently escorting him towards his ‘room’ in the Watchtower despite what it may look like to onlookers.

“B” Jason called pulling Bruce out of his own head and back into reality “as much as it pains me to say this we might need to reassess Ifrit’s threat level”

“Why” Bruce and Clark asked in unison. While Ifrit was most certainly someone they were cautious of they couldn’t imagine them becoming a legitimate threat to the League.

“According to my sources” Jason explained his voice tight “they’re in contact with Vandal Savage”

"And they're meeting with the man tonight"

Chapter Text

Vandal Savage licked his lips as he smiled wickedly at the woman pinned beneath him. He was going to enjoy this very much.

“You know” a voice began somewhere behind him. A voice that should belong to the woman pinned beneath him but was just slightly off in pitch “my favorite thing about men like you and Ra's is that you’re all incredibly predictable”

The woman whom he had pinned by the throat smiled wolfishly before slipping out from his grasp as if made from clay. He watched, in muted horror, as the goop that had once been Theadora Drake-Lance-Queen slipped between his fingers and across the room towards the speaker. There they reformed, not as Thea, but as the individual they truly were, Clayface.

“You must tell me” the Gotham based thespian started “how was my performance? Did I do the role justice?”

The intruder, Ifrit Vandal realized with a start, laughed good naturedly in response. The sound was. . .different from the laughs he’s heard from Thea which didn’t make any sense considering Thea, the Crimson Canary, was also Ifrit. At least he was pretty certain she was. He was positive the Crimson Canary was Ifrit but what if, despite what his sources claimed, the woman behind the mask wasn’t actually Theadora Drake-Lance-Queen?

What if the woman he’d nearly taken as his bride was merely an, admittedly brilliant, businesswoman and nothing more?

“It was a brilliant show Karlo” Ifrit responded before inserting their hand into Clayface’s ‘skull’ for a moment before pulling out a small blinking device she then crushed between her fingers as if it were but an insect “and for doing so well Waller has decided to grant you a full pardon”

Clayface ‘smiled’ a ‘toothy’ grin before offering the individual before them a playful salute. Then they turned to face Vandal to give a polite almost theatrical bow and left excitedly speaking to themself about needing to prepare for an ‘audition’ with Wayne Enterprise for an upcoming project.

“How are you still able to use your powers” Vandal demanded quickly regaining his composure “you should be powerless”

The woman before him laughed the almost airy quality of its borderline insanity causing Vandal to tense. He wasn’t afraid of her, he wasn’t, but that laugh was truly frightening. It was something akin to the late Joker’s but far more dangerous.

“Did you really think your little toy would actually work on me Vandal?” she asked as the mask covering her face vanished.

It was that moment that he realized how wrong he’d been regarding the identity of Ifrit and the Crimson Canary. For the woman before him most certainly wasn’t Thea Drake-Lance-Queen. Sure she was similar in body type and general face shape but this woman was far more dangerous. Thea was, evidently, merely a civilian business woman but the woman behind Ifrit? The woman behind the Crimson Canary?

Vandal Savage had met a Banshee before his daughter, and heir, Scandal was close to the one known as Jeanette. But he’d never feared one before now. Yet it wasn’t the woman’s Banshee like appearance that frightened him.

It wasn’t the coal black eyes lacking white where there should be white that scared him. It wasn’t the hollow cheeks making her already sharp cheekbones standout further in an almost skeletal fashion that caused his blood to chill. And it certainly wasn’t the snow white hair pinned brilliantly atop her head that informed him of how dangerous the woman before him was.

No, the cracks of green in her porcelain skin didn’t frighten him. Neither did the sliver like cracks that splintered away from her eyes that made them truly etherial. Nor the myriad of glowing lines visibly marking her delicate throat. Sure they all gave him pause but none of that truly affected him much.

No, it was the splinter like cracks framing her lips that seemed to extend her smile unnaturally that frightened him. Because he, like everyone else within the cape community, knew what those scars meant. And while he couldn’t begin to imagine the true horrors she’d gone through to get them he knew that the fact that they were there meant that the rumors surrounding Gotham’s Clown Prince of Crime’s end were true.

And if those rumors were true than he’d wager all of the other ones were true as well. That she’d orchestrated the death of his greatest competitive rival, Ra’s al Ghul, without actually lifting a finger. That she’d beaten the one known as Scarecrow in his own game literally killing him of fright while under the influence of fear toxin.

Vandal tensed, ready to fight, when something in the air shifted. Without a word Ifrit’s mask reformed around her face the impressive use of nanotechnology not lost on him. The woman clearly knew something he didn’t.

“Listen carefully Vandal” the woman stated her voice echoing in his head as if an illusion “for the next however long I shall assist you in the fight that has arrived”

“but” she continued her voice turning icy as it pricked at the fear receptors in his brain “if you or yours dare to kill anyone in this fight I shall make what I did to Crane look like an enjoyable experience”

Vandal opened his mouth to agree, or ask questions, when a large explosion destroyed the wall connecting the room they were in with the outside. Immediately he tensed as he understood the full scope of Ifrit’s threat.

It was no secret that, despite being a cold-blooded killer, Ifrit had qualms when it came to fighting the Titans and Justice League. She had ruthlessly taken down two of the largest organizations of Assassins in the world, on her own, and yet she drew the line at killing ‘heroes’ for some reason. Though, considering she herself had once been considered a hero, wasn’t particularly strange.

But this was, to his knowledge, the first time she’d ever directly threatened someone in the defense of these ‘heroes’ she so adored. And while frightening, as Ifrit was very much a threat to everything he’d built, he found himself infuriated by the gall of the literal child before him.

How dare she, a mere child, threaten him? How dare she, an insignificant blip in the grandeur that was Vandal Savage, tell him what he could or couldn’t do? She’d regret every believing they were on the same level.

All of the original Titans were there; Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beastboy. Plus a few late joiners like Kid Flash, or Velocity as he was now known, and a few Leaguers that likely only came because he, Vandal Savage, was involved. Including his eternal foes Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

“Kill them all” he ordered despite the threat Ifrit had made.

Within moments hundreds of Assassins appeared as if from no where ready to strike. Vandal smirked thriving on how helpless the woman must feel when he felt himself tense as she merely sighed in response.

“Listen to me closely as I shall not repeat myself” the woman stated her soft voice echoing throughout the room as if by magic. Only, and Vandal didn’t yet know this, it was only actually audible to those serving, or believed to be serving, him “I will give you until the count of three to put down your weapons and make to retreat”

“Those who do not shall die”

“She’s bluffing” Vandal roared stirring his men into action once more “no one is strong enough to kill hundreds in an instant”

“One”

Exactly 10 agents dropped their weapons. Of those 10 agents 9 weren’t actually agents working for Vandal but Ifrit’s team in disguise. Meaning, in reality, only 1 person listened to her threat and took it seriously.

“Two”

The Titans, and friends, tensed not quite sure what was happening as they couldn’t hear Ifrit’s threats. They understood that there was some sort of conflict happening between Ifrit and Vandal but that was it.

Ifrit sighed once more before lifting her hands slowly, dramatically, before snapping her fingers. To the Titans and Vandal Savage himself it was a silent action. But to Vandal’s agents? It was a death sentence.

212 agents hit the floor their brains liquefied in their skulls. 10 agents, the only to listen to the threat, remained all of which made a hasty escape. Vandal also remained though whether that was by Ifrit’s design or because of his immortality he wasn’t quite sure. Either way he’d lost an entire army in but an instant.

~*~

Dick wasn’t quite sure what was happening if he was being honest. They’d infiltrated Vandal Savage’s island home on the Intel that he was meeting with the Assassin known as Ifrit. From what Jason had implied when relaying the Intel it sounded like the two incredibly dangerous people were working together to the detriment of the Justice League.

And yet he was nearly certain this Ifrit character, who was quite possibly a woman despite their intelligence saying otherwise, had just killed damn near all of Vandal’s private army with a snap of their fingers. He wasn’t sure how they’d done so but one minute they were hopelessly outnumbered and the next it was just them, Vandal Savage, Ifrit, and a small gaggle of assassins who appeared to be making to flee.

“You dare oppose me” Vandal demanded his attention entirely focused on Ifrit “I who offered you the world”

Ifrit laughed tonelessly at that their posture open and relaxed despite the threat that Vandal was.

“I already have the world Vandal” they countered the snark in their tone reminding Dick of Thea when she was working “all you offer is a leash”

The immortal roared in indignation as he made to lunge at the Assassin before him. A blade no one had noticed previously flashed as he made to stab his new foe. Dick didn’t even realize he’d screamed out as the blade pierced Ifrit’s side until, as if made of smoke, the assassin vanished from sight.

“It’s cute that he thought such an attack would actually work on me Vandal” Ifrit teased reappearing between Hawkman and Hawkgirl “now would be a good time to make your move or would you rather I handle him for you”

Hawkman, Carter Hall, and Hawkgirl, Kendra Saunders blinked in shocked unison before nodding. Moving as a unit they took advantage of Vandal’s surprise to quickly, and effectively, subdue him.

“Ifrit” Dick started once the threat that was Vandal Savage was subdued “your presence is requested by the Justice League for some questioning”

Ifrit nodded in understanding their mannerism striking Dick as strange. Earlier they’d seemed laid back and almost relaxed where as now they seemed almost distracted.

“As much as I’d love to answer whatever questions are flitting around your precious little heads” Ifrit mocked sarcastically their modulated voice lacking it’s earlier bite “I have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment”

Dick arched a brow at that. What in the world could be more pressing than the Justice League? Did they not understand that they were a wanted criminal right now? And sure the Justice League didn’t presently understand where the Assassin stood in the grand scheme of things but that was besides the point.

“What could be more pressing than answering for your crimes” Carter asked as he walked back over now that Vandal wasn’t a threat.

Ifrit blinked, or at least they assumed they did, in response before moving a hand slowly down their torso.

“Nothing super major” they teased their voice slurring slightly “just a little stab wound ya know”

Starfire lunged for them as they wobbled catching the now unconscious Assassin mere seconds before they hit the ground. A gentle hand moved across the unconscious individual's body looking for the mentioned wound until, after what felt like eternity, they found it.

While Ifrit's disappearance trick had allowed them to avoid taking a lethal blow they hadn’t avoided it in its entity. Vandal had still managed to stab them in abdomen, just barely missing their stomach. It wasn’t deep enough to be fatal but it most certainly needed medical attention.

“They require immediate assistance” Starfire informed them their hand sticky with blood “I shall not have their death on our head after they ensured our survival on this day”

“No one’s gonna let them die Star” Beastboy assured her with a tight smile “Cy is getting our extract ready right now”

“Vandal has escaped” Kendra all but roared as her attention, distracted by Ifrit’s injury, returned to where they’d bound the immortal only to find him missing “one of his surviving agents must’ve used our distraction to steal him away”

“We’ll get him” Raven assured her with a friendly shoulder squeeze “but our primary mission was to apprehend the one known as Ifrit”

Kendra nodded tightly before turning to Carter. They’d been so close to catching their immortal foe only for him to escape at the last minute. But, as Raven had said, what mattered right now was that they apprehend Ifrit. And ensure that the Assassin didn’t bleed out before the League could figure out if they were friend or foe.

Gods above she hoped Ifrit ended up a friend. The last thing the League needed was a foe that could kill 200+ of Vandal Savage’s highly trained agents with nothing more than a snap of their fingers.

“The Watchtower has approved our extraction” Cyborg informed them moments before being engulfed in the Watchtower's extraction Zeta Beam.

The last thing anyone expected was for the Zeta to recognize Ifrit as the retired Crimson Canary. Especially considering it hadn’t done so the last time they’d been brought to the Watchtower for questioning.

Chapter Text

No one was particularly surprised by the realization that Ifrit was the retired Crimson Canary. In fact many within the League had presumed that the Crimson Canary had gone villain following the death of the original Superboy. Learning that she, technically, had only served to further their distrust in the young meta-human. Much to the chagrin of the Arrows and Bats whom had all done their best to fix Thea's reputation amongst their ranks since her return from her time abroad.

The rest of the League, and the Titans, were more upset that they hadn’t pieced it together prior to now. Thea, the Crimson Canary, was their friend and protégé and yet they hadn’t realized that she had the exact same powers as Ifrit. Sure she used them a little differently as Ifrit but that’s besides the point.

Honestly it should’ve been obvious. Ifrit intentionally avoided conflict with the Justice League and the Titans. They went out of their way to not permanently maim or kill anyone considered a hero or vigilante within the cape community and, excluding the Electrocutioner, avoided Capes all together when possible. Sure they were a trained assassin but honestly so we’re several other Leaguers, and like all of the Bats at this point, so what did that matter.

And now, yet again, she was receiving medical treatment in the Watchtower.

Or she would be if the wound hadn’t stitched itself up on its own. In the time it’d taken them to figure out and remove Ifrit’s suit, they ended up using magic to remove it after realizing it was very much booby trapped, the only evidence that she’d ever been stabbed was the dried blood adorning her pale abdomen. Dinah had heard that Banshees were notoriously quick healers but she hadn’t realized just how quick. Honestly there was a good chance that she’d actually passed out from sleep deprivation and not the stab wound.

The fact that Thea slept for damn near 16 hours, consecutively, in the Watchtower’s medbay added credence to that theory.

“Thea” Dinah called as her daughter stirred awake.

Green tinted eyes blinked open as Thea assessed the situation. She was unmasked, dressed in what she presumed were some spare clothes Dinah or Diana kept in the Watchtower. Which meant they not only knew she was Ifrit but they’d likely learned such information upon the Titans bringing her back to the Watchtower. A fact that meant exactly one thing really.

“I forgot to install my suit’s biometric blockers didn’t I” Thea grumbled as she sat up.

Her suit had utilized magic to ensure her identity wouldn’t be compromised. Unfortunately all of her magical devices presently needed to be reworked as her awakening as a Banshee rendered most of them useless. Well, not useless per say but useless for her.

The joys of now being labeled a ‘magical’ being and not just a ‘regular’ metahuman.

“You’re in so much trouble” Dinah laughed wetly as she pulled her daughter in for a hug “I’m tired of only seeing you when you’ve been hurt”

Thea nodded slowly half registering that, for reasons she didn’t quite understand, tears slipped unprompted down her face. She’d missed her mom, and the rest of her family, so very much. But, as far as she could remember, the last time she’d actually cried had been when Kon had asked her out several months ago.

While crying unprovoked wasn’t exactly a flaw or imperfection it certainly didn’t agree with the image of perfection she typically maintained.

~*~

Diana was not happy about what was about to happen. Neither were Bruce, Dinah, Ollie, or Hal shockingly but that’s besides the point. But, unfortunately, they’d been out voted.

By majority vote young Miss Theadora was to be questioned while under the influence of the Lasso of Truth.

“I do not agree with this” Diana stated for probably the hundredth time as she entered the Containment Cell Thea had been moved to after she woke up.

“It is a necessary evil” Clark countered sounding properly chastised while Dinah, Bruce, and Ollie glared him down “if she is a threat to the League we need to know”

Diana frowned but didn’t argue. She understood how many felt towards Thea. She was both incredibly powerful and woefully unpredictable. She, apparently, had connections linking her to Vandal Savage and a list of other villains and had no qualms with assassination.

She was also, apparently, powerful enough to kill over 200 trained Assassins with a literal snap of her fingers.

But she was one of the sweetest people Diana had ever had the privilege to meet. And, possibly more importantly, she was still an actual child. Even by the laws of man, which mattered not to Diana, she wouldn’t be considered an adult for another month or so. Though the fact that Thea had ‘joined the fight’ before she’d even turned 13 seemed to blind many amongst their ranks to this.

The door to Thea’s cell opened and Diana walked in alongside J’onn. Bruce, Dinah, and Ollie would observe from outside alongside Clark but it’d been decided that only J’onn would be allowed to enter with Diana. A privilege granted by the fact that he’d chosen to abstain from the vote regarding her interrogation.

“It’s alright Diana” Thea stated calmly her expression almost apologetic as she addressed them “you have my permission to use the Lasso of Truth on me”

Diana sighed disliking that the young woman before her knew exactly what to say to calm the guilt within her heart. Thea had always been good at reading people and acting accordingly but from what she’d been told it was something she’d gotten even better at in recent months.

J’onn hissed silently as he, accidentally, probed Thea’s mind. It was something he’d done on instinct, momentarily forgetting why it was ill-advised to enter Thea's mind without her permission. He and M’gann could, technically, read Thea’s mind regardless but neither wished to do so unless absolutely necessary. Being in her head, without conscious permission from Thea, was physically painful and the crumbs they could potentially get while inside her head were not worth the pain of entering uninvited.

“Present your left arm” Diana ordered frowning slightly as Thea did it without complaint allowing Diana to wrap the Lasso around her arm skillfully “what is your full legal name”

“Theadora Harleen Drake-Lance-Queen”

Outside of the cell Bruce arched a brow at that. He hadn’t been aware that Thea’s middle name was Harleen. Though, considering Harley’s place in her life, it made sense to some degree. He still didn’t yet know the full story regarding what’d happened all those years ago but he knew it wasn’t his place to judge how Thea coped.

“Why have you taken the mantel of Ifrit” J’onn asked barely missing a beat before beginning the questioning.

“I needed an alias that could not be linked back to the Crimson Canary” Thea responded almost immediately the ‘eyes’ of her mask ‘blinking’ lazily “One that would keep my identity and the identity of my family safe if something happened while I was working abroad with less than pleasant company”

Diana tensed at the response. The way she’d phrased her response told her that there was more that she wasn’t saying. Additional information that was being stated through subtle implications instead of words. But who exactly was such a threat to Thea that she’d create a new alias intentionally separated from her work as the Crimson Canary.

Oh.

“You were worried about how the League would respond if we believed you went Rogue” Diana asked without meaning to her grip on the Lasso loosening her tongue.

Thea nodded tightly the guilt in Diana’s chest returning with a vengeance.

“Was my assumption incorrect” she asked before motioning towards the Lasso wrapped around her arm.

“Are you a threat to the League” J’onn asked almost hesitantly in response.

Thea tilted her head slightly in that almost doll like way she often did. It was too sharp an angle to appear fully human and yet it appeared a natural response to her.

“Have I given reason to believe such” she asked almost teasingly before straightening out slightly “but to answer your question, no. I am not a threat to the League”

“Not anymore than any other hero amongst your ranks is anyway”

Diana sighed at how honest that response truly was. Theadora had never once done anything that painted her as a bigger risk than anyone else within the League. And yet, for reasons she wouldn’t state out loud, many believed her to be a larger threat than many active villains despite that.

“I believe were done” Diana declared standing up to remove the Lasso when J’onn raised a hand.

“Just one more question if you don’t mind” he started notably not requesting the Lasso be used for this particular question “was there not another way of handling things on Savage Isle?”

Thea smiled tightly at the question. It was a question she’d asked herself multiple times since waking up several hours ago. 200+ lives lost in an instant because she decided it was the necessary course of action. But had it been necessary? Was there not another way?

“There were multiple other ways of handling it” she admitted not quite reluctantly “but that was the only one I could think of that would ensure the safety of all heroes and non hostiles present”

There was a pause as J’onn considered her words. Thea was arguably among the brightest strategists he’d ever met. Her mind could dance circles around damn near everyone, including Batman. And as far as he’d seen, both in her actions and her thoughts, she was not one to needlessly take a life without probable cause. She wasn’t as strictly against it as Batman but she didn’t relish in killing those who stood against her.

She didn’t believe in being needlessly ruthless, despite what she might wish others to believe.

“I understand” he acknowledged calmly as he walked with Diana towards the door only turning to face her once as they made to leave “thank you for ensuring their safety”

And thank you for ensuring they didn’t need to bury yet another young hero.

~*~

It took far more deliberation than anyone cared to admit but Thea was officially released into the custody of her family some hours after her interrogation. Unfortunately her release came with the condition that she abstain from further cape work while the League further deliberate on her standing within their ranks. A decision that very nearly had the Arrows, and the Bats, removing themselves from the League all together. If not for Thea’s insistence that the League, and the world, still needed them they’d have cut all ties immediately for the way they were treating her.

“Their paranoia is understandable” Thea remarked blandly as she sat within Queen Manor’s main living room.

The Queen’s, excluding Mia who was presently in the kitchen making dinner, grumbled in response. As did the Wayne’s, excluding Alfred and Cass who were both helping Mia in the kitchen. They understood her point, she was one of the few people capable of taking Superman in an all out fight after all, but that didn’t mean they liked it. Excluding her arguably legitimate personal beef with the Man of Steel she’d never once given any of them reason to think she was a threat to any of them.

The incident at Metropolis didn’t count. If only because, as Dinah had pointed out many times, her closest friend/the boy she was in love with had just died in her arms. Her response, however potentially dangerous it was for those around her, was completely valid and within reason. And to hold it against her was hypocritical. Especially considering many amongst them had done the same, if not worse, when found in similar situations.

“Question” Damian began artfully changing the subject as he’d learned from watching Thea through board room recording “how did you manage to infiltrated Savage Isle? I was under the impression that one could not merely walk into his domain”

That was true. As a general rule one either had to be invited or come in with guns a blazing. And yet, as far as anyone else was presently aware, Thea had managed to infiltrate the island without being detected as Ifrit. It was both impressive and horrifying.

“About that” Thea responded almost shyly “I was actually invited by Vandal”

“Vandal willingly invited Ifrit onto his island” Bruce asked incredulously “that seems out of character”

“You misunderstand” Thea corrected immediately “Vandal isn’t foolish enough to invite a threat like Ifrit into his home”

A pause as everyone attempted, and failed, to understand what she was implying. Unfortunately that meant she’d have to say it outright.

“He invited Thea Drake”

If this was an old timey movie it’d be the moment the record stopped playing with a screech. Where the room went from noisy and full of conversation to so silent one could hear a pin drop. It was, off-putting to say the least. And it implied that telling her family what she needed to tell them would be a more difficult conversation than she would like.

Look Thea understood that telling her family, the Wayne’s in particular, that she owned T’s Costume and was low-key the most influential ‘civilian’ in the villain world would be difficult. Bruce had been openly searching for the answer to that ‘secret’ for far longer than they’d known one another. But knowing something in theory and actually knowing something weren’t the same thing.

“Why would Vandal Savage invite Thea Drake to his private island” Bruce asked his voice almost devoid of judgment.

“A couple reasons” Thea responded honestly while thanking her stars her exposure to the Pit allowed her to remain calm “namely he presumed Thea Drake to be the Crimson Canary and wished to use a device created off the back of inhuman experiments performed on metahumans to make her his consort”

“Though if I’m being honest” she continued half hoping to steamroll her way through that trauma by getting them to focus on the fact that she’s technically a villain “I assumed it was mainly because he wanted to discuss business with the creator of the UgU (Universal Goon Union) and the proprietor of T’s Costume”

For the briefest, and we mean briefest, second the room was dangerously quite as everyone processed her words. And then, all at once, it got really, REALLY, loud. Nearly everyone was shouting about something or another regarding what she’d just told them.

And, despite her best wishes, most of said shouting seemed to revolve around the fact that Vandal Savage, a man several thousand years her senior, had been trying to bed/wed her. Or at least that’s what she believed they were focusing on. She wasn’t quite sure as after a few moments everything started to sound like static to her.

Too much was happening all at once and she couldn’t focus. She doubted anyone could tell but her heart began beating erratically as she tried to focus on controlling her breathing. But with every word being said, or shouted, it became harder and harder to not give in to the raising panic attack.

But suddenly the entire room fell silent as the the three metahuman heroes Thea loved more dearly than anyone else in existence entered the room in a flourish. Kon was in the lead his TTK enveloping Thea as an almost sound proof blanket before whisking her out of the room and up to her bedroom. Bart and Cassie however, who had entered alongside Kon, kept the Wayne’s and Queen’s within the den. Neither the Amazon nor the Speedster looked particularly pleased with anyone from either family though Cassie did still take the time to give Dinah and Ollie brief hugs.

Bart however stayed firmly in the doorway intentionally ensuring that no one could slip out. He did not offer or give anyone hugs.

“We weren’t expecting you for another day or so” Dinah stated attempting to diffuse the awkward tension suddenly in place while returning Cassie’s hug.

“We weren’t originally planning on being back for another day or so” Cassie acknowledged her tone tight despite her relaxed posture as she returned to Bart’s side allowing the younger hero to enter the room while she took his place in the doorway “but plans change”

Bart, ever vibrating Bart, was vibrating so fast he almost appeared to not be moving at all as he took a very ‘slow’ step forward. Everyone in the room could feel the electricity around him pulsating as he glanced between them his eyes golden with the speed force.

He was pissed.

“While Kon helps Thea calm down” he began carefully enunciating every word “we’re going to have a chat about why the decision to begin yelling atop one another was an unacceptable response to all of this”

Someone opened their mouth to object only to decide against it a moment later when golden eyes glanced their way.

~*~

Thea was maybe thirty seconds from having a full blown mental breakdown despite the silent comfort Kon’s TTK brought her. A part of her was surprised at the arrival of Kon, Bart, and Cassie but the more logical part of her brain understood. Despite the fact that she almost always kept her heart beat hidden Kon was always listening for it. It was because of this fact that Kon had heared the erratic panic of her heartbeat the moment her control slipped allowing them to arrive as quickly as they had. Slobo was probably going to give them shit for ditching him mid conversation but, knowing him, he’d understand and approve deep down.

Especially when Kon had a feeling a Sonic Boom was a very real possibility if he didn’t do something. His TTK would help, as it was thus far the only thing they knew of that could actually dampen Thea’s powers to a noticeable degree, but it was merely a stop gap and not a solution.

“Focus on my heartbeat and match my breathing” he begged as he pulled her close “it’s just us here”

Time seemed to slow as Thea did as he asked. Her breathing, which hadn’t been noticeably different prior, slowed down fractionally as her heart rate inched back to normal. Frosty green eyes refocused and then, in a moment neither individual saw coming, tears began to stream down Thea’s face.

For quite possibly the first time since the day they'd officially become a couple Thea was crying.

“It’s too much” she unintentionally whispered her voice strained and hoarse in a way he hadn’t heard since the incident with Crane “my brain needs me to be perfect for them but I can’t. I can’t be the perfect heir and the perfect daughter, sister, soldier, killer, hero, and everything else all at the same time”

“I’m trying but I just can’t”

Kon frowned as he kissed her gently on the forehead. Slobo had given them a basic rundown of what he’d learned regarding Thea’s condition from his discussion with her. It was one of the reasons they were late in returning. And Bart had supplemented Slobo’s theories with what was known in the future to paint a more complete picture regarding Thea’s situation.

“Look at me” he begged smiling weakly as tear filled eyes locked with his “you don’t need to be perfect for any of them”

Thea opened her mouth to retort but Kon cut her off with a warm smile. He hadn’t a clue if what he was about to suggest would work, or even be remotely helpful, but Bart theorized it would so he’d give it a shot. Give her perfectionist brain something to focus on without invalidating it’s need to be perfect.

“You’re already perfect just as you are” he whispered before kissing her playfully on the nose.

Thea blinked her eyes regaining some of their natural crystalline like clarity as she processed his words. There were several people she could exist around without feeling the need to be perfect. People like her Young Justice team, and Amanda Waller, for example. Not because she was somehow unaffected while around them but because she’d never felt the need to be perfect for them in the first place.

Kon however, took it a step further. His presence actually seemed to appease the sick perfectionist song the Pit had amplified within her head. It was a phenomenon she’d noticed prior but never quite understood until now

It wasn’t that she didn’t feel the need to appear perfect around Kon that soothed the Pit.

“You truly believe that don’t you” she asked the awe lacing her words practically palpable as everything suddenly made sense all at once.

Kon nodded as he smiled at her his strong arms holding her close.

“I always have” he assured her his voice genuine and full of love as he cupped her face gently with his hand “and I always will”

And that, despite everything, was what soothed the Pit’s song. The person who’s opinion she valued most in the galaxy believed she was perfect just the way she was.

Sure that didn’t magically fix everything, and she still most certainly needed to resume going to actual therapy, but it was enough.

Chapter Text

The Queen’s and Wayne’s all sat silently as they processed what Bart and Cassie had told them. The Lazarus Pit, or Pit of Truth as most of the Universe knew them, had amplified Thea's irrational need to be perfect from like a 6 to an 12 on a 10 scale. It'd also gave her the body of a cis-woman and near complete mastery of her powers.

Plus enhanced physical abilities and a slight healing factor. Both of which had most likely been further amplified by her awakening as an actual Banshee. They weren't sure on that part as they hadn't seen her since her Banshee powers had awakened.

“Wait” Jason started as something clicked “so you’re telling me all the shit that’s been going on in my head since my return is my own fault”

Bart arched a brow in thought while Cassie shook her head. It wasn’t quite that simple.

“Slobo isn’t sure if the fact that you’d been comatose at time of exposure would affect the results” Cassie explained casually “he also isn’t sure if one’s species, age, or mental development plays a part in the equation”

“Inotherwords” Bart continued his earlier anger diffused “wedon’tpresnetlyhaveenoughevidencetomakeasolidtheory”

“But according to Prince Ryand’r mental changes caused by exposure to the Pit before Tameranian adulthood tend to fade over time” Cassie finished with a smile.

Though it’s important to note that Tameranians reach mental adulthood at 18 earth years where as humans don’t reach it until 25 or so. But there is no guarantee that the phenomenon noticed with young Tameranians exposed to the Pit would repeat itself with humans. But, using Tameranians as a point of comparison, it was likely that reaching mental adulthood would reduce the mental changes seen in humans like it did in Tameranians.

After all, much like with Tameranians, the humans that seemed to struggle the most post exposure were all still developing mentally at time of exposure. Sure certain adults like Ra’s had come back a little more insane each time he took a dip but he was a special case as a narcissist. Talia didn’t seem to have that issue. Nor did anyone else they had on record of being exposed after the age of 25.

“So the rage might just go away on its own” Jason asked sounding almost hopeful.

Roy squeezed his boyfriend’s hand in response. He knew how deeply Jason hated the anger he felt because of the Pit. Knew that his greatest fear was having an episode while at home and putting Lian in danger as a result.

“Not exactly” Cassie countered watching the older man deflate in defeat “but Ryand’r said that those who received help from trained professions”

“in other words therapy with a licensed therapist” Bart interjected speaking slowly with a smile while motioning towards Dinah.

Cassie nodded in agreement before continuing the explanation “Often find the Pit’s influence on their mind mostly if not completely gone by the time they reach full mental development”

Jason nodded in understanding. He was in therapy and, as theorized by Prince Ryand’r, it was doing wonders for reducing if not full on removing the Pit’s influence on him. Giving him ways to combat its song while it's green faded from his mind. It's just that, prior to this moment, he’d assumed he’d been imaging all of that. He hadn’t dared dream that it was actually helping to flush the Pit from his head.

“We’ll need to endeavor that Drake begins receiving therapeutic treatment as well” Damian stated earning mumbles of agreement from the rest in response.

“Wait” Bart interjected not quite following his brain now going a million miles a minute “IthoughtTheawasseeingaDoctorCarolineHill”

~*~

Kon was making breakfast, nothing fancy just some veggie omelets and some toast, while contemplating their plans for the day. Everyone was coming over in an hour or two to get the full story from Thea and he had half a mind to put the condo in lockdown and cancel. He wouldn’t, probably, but he very much wanted to.

For starters he’d only successfully gotten Thea to actual fall asleep maybe 3 and a half hours ago tops. But, despite his best wishes, getting her to sleep for more than 4 hours consecutively, excluding sleep induced by exhaustion, was a loosing battle. She was plagued by terrible nightmares that often started around hour 4.

He hated that he couldn’t do more to comfort her.

Plating their breakfast he set the table before heading back to their room. For a split moment Thea appeared to be sleeping peacefully when, live in real time, he watched her face contort in pain. Watched in horror as the woman he loved cried out silently as the nightmares started.

“Thea” he whispered flying over to her side his TTK enveloping her as he pulled her into his arms “you’re safe, I've got you”

A strangled sound left Thea’s lips as delicate fingers entangled themselves in the fabric of Kon’s shirt. Green tinted crystalline eyes blinked open as tears slipped down her pale face the nightmare ending as she awoke. Unfortunately ending the nightmare didn’t end her palpable fear.

“Will the feeling of his fingers on my skin ever go away” she asked in a broken whisper as she buried her face in his chest.

Kon frowned as he kissed her forehead and whispered assurances neither of them fully believed. Not for the first time he wished he could resurrect Ra’s just so he could rip him apart for what he did to the woman he loved. He had half a mind to call Waller and see if she’d let her test just how immortal Vandal Savage for making her relive such trauma.

He wouldn’t but only because doing so would upset Thea. Otherwise they’d be learning if Vandal could recover from being made a eunuch.

“Breakfast is ready my sunlight” he whispered kissing her gently on the lips “it’ll get cold if we take too long”

Thea hummed in acknowledgment before slowly getting to her feet. She was as gorgeous as always, drowning in one of his old shirts and a pair of shorts, and yet Kon couldn't help but see the vulnerability in every inch of her frame. She’d been through so much since his death and it very nearly broke his heart to know that he was quite possibly the only person to see such changes clearly. And it most certainly broke his heart to know that despite seeing the changes as clearly as he did there wasn't anything he could do to help her further than he already was.

“I’m going to wash up real quick” she explained her voice unnaturally soft as she spoke “I’ll join you in a few”

Kon nodded as he stood up as well. Giving her one last kiss he let her slip away his TTK still enveloping her delicate frame like a second layer of skin. With anyone else it’d likely be seen as overbearing but to Thea it was anything but as she told him, regularly, that she liked how safe his TTK made her feel.

Kon returned to the kitchen, stopping by the stove to brew some tea to go with their food, as he contemplated their plans for the day. Once they’d eaten they’d head downstairs to the guest condo Thea had purchased, to ensure their condo remained their private sanctuary, and wait for everyone to arrive.

It had been decided, unanimously, by the members of Young Justice, the Queen’s, and the Wayne’s that the upcoming conversation should take place where Thea felt most free to be herself without the pressure of perfection. They’d considered Young Justice’s Titan Tower in San Francisco but decided against it due to how it could trigger her because of its ties to her past as a hero.

The condo they would be meeting in was incredibly similar to the one they were presently in but it was, as mentioned before, reserved for guests. It was primarily used by various members of the Young Justice team, Lex, and Mercy whenever they were in town but others, like Arthur of Atlantis, had also stayed within it while in town on official business.

Excluding Thea and Kon the only people allowed within their actual condo were Bart and Cassie. Not even Cass, despite how close she and Thea were, was granted access. Dinah, Ollie, and Lex had all been granted temporary access when the condo was first acquired but since his return and Thea’s time abroad it was locked down to everyone except the Core Four of Young Justice.

A choice that had been made by Kon. And while Thea would likely never admit it aloud they both knew she approved of the decision. An opinion that was evident in the way she’d purchased the guest condo beneath their own immediately after the decision had been made.

“The food smells amazing Conner” Thea praised as she joined him.

Taking her in Kon felt his breath hitch at the sight. She was wearing an Impulse red dress with a sweetheart neckline in addition to a layered necklace that reminded him of Cassie’s lasso and one of his leather jackets. The dress fit her sinfully while the jacket was still far to large on her delicate frame. Honestly it reminded him of the outfit she’d worn for her birthday party several years ago but more put together. The candy cane dress had been delightful but he preferred this all red dress as it. Mainly because, with the black jacket, it reminded him of his Superboy suit.

“I love this look on you” he teased warmly as she took the seat opposite him and began eating “seeing you in it for the first time damn near made me lose my mind”

Thea blushed faintly at the praise but didn’t respond, instead choosing to busy herself with eating. He said the same corny line every time she wore this specific outfit. It may, or may not, be why she wore it as often as she did. But she’d never admit that aloud.

“Only nearly” she teased once her mouth was no longer full of food “I’ll endeavor to step up my game in the future”

Kon barked a laugh as he pulled the technically younger woman close. Peppering her with playful kisses he didn’t stop until she was admitting defeat while giggling. He loved seeing her like this, without any thought of perfection dancing around in her head.

Unfortunately their peace couldn’t last forever.

“I’ll wash the dishes” Thea informed him as she slipped out of his grasp with their now empty dishes “you should get ready for the day”

Kon frowned but did as he was asked. He had the perfect outfit set aside, for if and when Thea needed a distraction, so he did need to change. A pair of jeans that had some rips atop the thighs from when Thea had tried to teach him to skateboard after their first or second official date. A leather jacket that would hide the shirt he was wearing well enough that it wasn’t particularly visible while the jacket was closed.

And under the jacket he had a crimson turtleneck that Thea had gotten him a little while ago. He’d yet to have the opportunity to wear it but they were having dinner with Lex and Mercy after their meeting with the Queen’s and Wayne’s and he knew seeing him in it would please, and distract, Thea. It was a thick, almost unfairly soft, material that hugged his arms and chest deliciously. She was for sure going to love it.

~*~

Dinah felt her brow twitch. She, Ollie, and Bruce were seated in the kitchen of Thea’s ‘guest condo’ that was located a floor or two below the condo she and Kon called home. Their children, including children Bart and Cassie, were all in the living room while Lian was taking a nap in one of the home’s many rooms. Alfred was presently at the grocers as he'd taken one look in the condo’s fridge before deciding it was ‘inadequate’ for the lunch he, Mia, and Jason had agreed to make for everyone. She wasn’t sure how everything was going to play out but presently she was hopeful.

Now if only Bruce would stop with his fucking pacing.

“Bruce” she hissed as her brow twitched again “either sit down or I swear to Diana I will strangle you”

Bruce's pacing faltered as he contemplated her words before he, thankfully, decided to join them at the kitchen table. They’d decided to wait in the kitchen as the condo's entrance was there and it would ensure they’d see Thea first. Though, in hindsight, they probably should’ve double checked with Kon that they would in fact be using the door to arrive rather than just assuming that to be the case.

Thankfully such a lack in foresight ended up not mattering when the door opened to reveal Kon and a visibly tense Thea.

“Before we start” Thea whispered the sound of it bringing Dinah back to when she’d found her sitting on her couch all those years ago “I had to replace the clasp but otherwise it’s undamaged. I apologize for stealing such an heirloom from your home”

Dinah blinked as she watched Thea hand Bruce a box holding the famed Dragon’s Heart necklace. Watched as a million and one different emotions flashed through Bruce’s eyes before his face settled on frowning in response. Unconsciously Dinah felt herself tense as she silently prayed that Bruce didn’t fuck this whole situation up.

“Thea” Bruce started his blue eyes soft despite the pain carefully hidden in their depths “the necklace was a gift”

“I see” she interrupted clearly misunderstanding his words her gaze downcast “I know stealing it was wrong but I”

Bruce placed a firm hand atop her shoulder, effectively cutting her off, before tilting her face up so she was looking at him and not his shoes.

“It was a gift for you Thea” he reiterated his gravely voice laced with fondness “to properly welcome you into my family”

Thea blinked crystalline eyes not understanding.

“You still want me” she asked her voice so soft it broke a small part of Dinah’s heart as she, and everyone else in the room, realized that Thea truly believed her ‘mistakes’ had caused Bruce to no longer care about her “even after I showed you how broken I am”

“Thea” Bruce responded blue eyes misting with tears as he pulled the young woman he considered a daughter into a tight embrace “I will always want you, I love you so much sweetheart”

Kon, who had been standing off to the side just in case he needed to step in, smiled softly as he heard Thea’s breath hitch in response to Bruce’s words. He was distinctly aware of how badly Thea had wanted Bruce to say those words and watching her fall apart in the older man’s arms at hearing them was worth the day’s earlier stress.

“Don’t forget about us” Ollie teased as he and Dinah made their way to join the hug “you’re stuck with us too kiddo, forever and always”

And for the first time in longer than anyone cared to admit Thea actually believed them.

Chapter Text

“There’s just one thing I still don’t understand” Damian admitted after Thea finished explaining her work as Ifrit to everyone.

He understood her decision to choose a name distant from both the Bats and the Arrows for her more recent vigilante/criminal activities. He even understood her willingness to work with Amanda Waller and the Secret Six of all people. He even, reluctantly, understood why she kept all of that secret until now. But that didn’t explain the one thing she’d, coincidentally, skipped over regarding their last family ‘discussion’ prior to now.

“When did you acquire T’s Costume”

To an untrained eye Thea didn’t react to the youngest Wayne’s, arguably, innocent question. To everyone in the room however, excluding little Lian who’d woken from her nap a little while ago, Thea’s minute reaction was practically a neon sign being waved about. She’d very clearly been hoping they’d forget about that particular detail.

“My mother” she started before pausing “Janet” she clarified for those less familiar with the way she spoke about the women in her life “acquired the storefront that is now T’s Costume when her pregnancy with me took”

“At the time a Costume Shop in Gotham was an incredibly safe investment due to Batman having recently begun taking to the street” she continued smiling fondly “her intention was to use it as a means to teach me proper business management”

Bruce, Dinah, and Ollie all nodded at that. That sounded exactly like something Janet would’ve done. She likely viewed it as a potential bonding experience for the two of them. And, based on Thea’s fond expression, it likely had been seen as one in Thea’s mind as well.

“When did she hand you the reigns” Ollie asked genuinely curious as to how long his daughter had been running the most successful villain/rouge/henchmen supplier in the world. It’d likely been far longer than any of them assumed considering how well she’d handled Wayne Enterprise in her time as acting CEO.

Which, side note, they really needed to hurry up with returning Wayne Enterprise to Bruce. Partially because Thea shouldn’t be responsible for running it when Bruce was more than capable. But also because, and he wasn’t sure how she’d been managing this, she was presently running two incredibly successful business, an international union, on top of her hero/villain work.

And her 18th birthday was still a few months away.

“She gave me full control shortly before my 5th birthday” Thea admitted earning a whistle of respect from Steph. Most everyone else had been effectively shocked into silence.

“Explain” the blonde vigilante/family friend begged eager for the drama.

“I’d encountered Bane, Mister Freeze, and some of their goons at the Wayne Gala following Dick’s introduction to high society” she began only to immediately get cut off by a very confused Bruce.

“Neither Bane nor Mister Freeze showed up at that Gala though” he argued remembering how confused they’d been about that at the time. Their Intel had said both Rogues, and their various henchmen, had all been planning to strike the Gala but none ever showed up. It’d ended up a rather peaceful, if not terribly droll, evening.

In fact the next time anyone heard anything from either Rogue was when Bane ripped a man’s face off on national television for attempting to burglarize T’s Costume like a month lat. . .oh.

That actually explained a lot honestly.

“As I was saying” Thea teased smiling at the realization that flashed through Bruce’s eyes “I’d encountered the two men and their henchmen prior to their planned caper”

“I hadn’t meant to speak with them” she explained almost shyly “but Bane’s costume had a rip on the back and I didn’t know if he knew about it or not so I felt obligated to tell him”

Multiple people, including Kon, laughed at that. Only Thea would see a notoriously dangerous person and immediately worry that they hadn’t noticed a tear in their costume. And only Thea would have the guts to walk up to said notoriously dangerous person just to tell them about said tear on the off chance that they weren’t already aware of it.

“He thanked me for telling him about the tear” she continued her face gaining a slight pink tint at the memory “and then one of his henchmen told me that the nearest place that sold anything halfway decent for their choice of profession in any of their sizes, and would actually sell to them, was a full 12 hour drive away”

“Which got Mister Freeze on a tangent about how hard it was to replace the coolant he needed to maintain his suit” it also got him on a tangent regarding how ‘unprofessional’ and ‘unethical’ it was that the Bat and the people in Arkham kept damaging/destroying his suit when he quite literally needed it to not actually die but she wasn’t going to admit that part out loud “And that sorta gave me the idea” she finished with a shrug “so I did the only thing I could think of”

“I gave them the cards I’d been working on for T’s Costume and told them that if they gave me two weeks we’d make sure they never had to worry about such things again”

She’d then went straight to her mother and pitched the idea. The idea to make T’s Costume a store that catered specifically to the needs of Rogues/Villains and their Goons/Henchmen both in and out of the mask. They’d stay well out of the arms dealing game, for even at such a young age Thea knew better than to cross the Gotham Crime Families, but everything else was on the table.

To say Janet was impressed was an understatement. The Rogue/Villain market was so thoroughly untapped within Gotham that they had next to no competition. And, after Bane’s very public display of support following Thea’s follow through on her promise in ensuring he need not drive 12 hours for something as simple as clothes that actually fit him, they had the full support of their intended market.

The fact that young Thea had a heart so golden that rivaled the late Thomas Wayne certainly didn’t hurt their standing either. T’s Costume offered fair prices to all of their clients, in addition to providing discounts to the Rogues/Villains (and the goons/henchmen employed by them) that followed by Thea’s very reasonable rules. T’s Costume, and the UgU (United Goon Union), grew rapidly as both a one stop shop for the Rogue/Villain community and as a safe space for those within it.

And some 13 or so years later it was not only thriving but actively growing. While not technically a non-profit organization many high profile individuals argued the value of T’s Costume within the non-profit community due to how much money the organization put back into the communities it existed within. For example, excluding Wayne Enterprise, T’s Costume put more money back into the city of Gotham than all other Gotham based companies put together twice over.

A recent, independent, study done by the Daily Planet’s own Lois Lane had concluded that cities with a T’s Costume were 68% safer than cities without one. The only notable exceptions being cities, like Metropolis, that faced extraterrestrial threats as their primary source of crime. But even cities like Metropolis noticed a 27% increase in civilian safety since acquiring a T’s Costume within their city which effectively proved how valuable their existence truly was to the world at large.

“Why withhold such information until now though” Dinah asked softly not quite understanding the benefit of doing so.

Thea sighed as she contemplated the laundry list of reasons she kept such information on the down low. The simplest answer is she wasn’t sure how they’d respond to knowing.

Bruce, and the League as a whole, had spent years searching for the owner of T’s Costume in an effort to turn them into an informant of sorts. And while it wouldn’t work, as she and Janet had intentionally designed the company’s structure to ensure such a thing couldn’t happen, she didn’t wish to risk people believing it could. Without the trust she’d garnered within the Rogue/Villain community all of her hard work could very well end up being for nothing. Untold numbers of people, both civilian and cape, could die in the fallout.

She'd only just barely managed to avoid an all out war after the Dr. Light magical lobotomy incident a few years ago and would rather not have a repeat of that if at all possible.

“It was the right choice” Bruce admitted before Thea could organize her thoughts well enough to answer “we all saw how the League reacted to learning she is Ifrit”

Everyone nodded tightly in response to that. The way the League had chosen to interrogate Thea regarding her actions as Ifrit was inexcusable and Dinah, Ollie, Bruce, and Dick all fully intended on bringing that up at the next League meeting. Thea had never once done anything, as Canary or Ifrit, to warrant such blatant hostility and they had no intention of letting such a thing stand without a fight. Furthermore she was still legally a minor and such methods went against the League’s actual rules regarding the process of interrogating children.

“I have a question” Jason asked pivoting the conversation away from their present focus “you’ve owned and run T’s Costume for nearly a decade right”

Thea nodded not quite sure why he was rehashing such information again. She’d assumed they’d moved past that part.

“Do you hate me” he continued earning a confused look from his not quite younger sister.

Thea shook her head. They both knew she didn’t hate him. Of the Wayne’s he and Cass, and Barbara if she counted, were her favorites. She loved all of them but her relationship with Cass and Jason was different.

“Then why do I have to pay full price at T’s Costume”

~*~

“We can cancel you know” Kon assured Thea softly as they entered their own condo to freshen up.

They were having dinner with Lex and Mercy in an hour or so but Thea was so clearly drained from everything that he wasn’t sure it was a wise idea. Lex of all people would understand if they had to reschedule for such reasons as he himself had a very limited social battery. And knowing Mercy she’d likely scold them for pushing themselves past their limits.

“I’m fine” Thea assured him with a soft smile “I’ve been looking forward to this dinner all week”

Kon nodded. He didn’t exactly like her reasoning but he understood. They’d had to reschedule three times already due to various issues. Since the change in their relationship they hadn’t yet gotten to see Lex and Mercy together and tonight was the last time all four of their schedules lined up for the next month or so. So he understood her reluctance to reschedule.

He just wished she wasn’t pushing herself so hard to make everyone happy.

“After we get home though” Thea continued as he swept her into his arms “can we take a bubble bath or something”

Kon smiled, kissing the woman he loved gently, in response to the question. They’d recently been talking about self care with the Young Justice team via group chat and Cissie mentioned how bubble baths were the her and Cassie’s preferred method of relaxation. Which led to Thea and Kon both admitting they’d never actually taken a bubble bath. So, as a not quite joke, Cissie and the rest of their friends sent them a crap ton of supplies as to ensure they could remedy that.

But to hear Thea, Miss 5 minute showers herself, admit that she was actually open to trying such a thing? That was a special kind of bliss.

“Babe” he teased as he enveloped her in his TTK before taking to the sky “I’ll even give you the Kon-El massage special after”

Metropolis

“I would like to switch things up today” Mercy explained as they reentered Lex’s home after a nice dinner at a truly questionable seafood restaurant.

Everyone paused as they politely waited for Lex’s not quite assistant to continue. Mercy, like Thea, thrived on routine and had never once desired to deviate from said routine. She was typically forced to deviate when Lex or Kon decided to change things up, not the other way around.

“I wish to spar with Thea” Mercy explained smiling at the younger woman “to see how I measure up against your recent growth”

Kon tensed slightly at the wording his gaze locked on Thea as he attempted to read her reaction. But, thankfully, Mercy’s wording didn’t seem to trigger the pit or anything. Thea merely appeared contemplative.

“That would mean submitting Lex to chess with Conner” Thea countered earning a smile, and an honest to god laugh, from Mercy.

“Let him suffer”

~*~

Kon kneaded the tense muscles of Thea’s back while they lay in bed in their pajamas together. They’d already taken a relaxing bubble bath but now it was time for the massage Kon had promised. As always Thea melted against his every touch letting out almost sinful sounds while he massaged the tension out of her.

Having TTK was honestly like possessing the cheat codes for giving the perfect massage. He could feel every line of tension and massage them until they ceased to be with a simple touch. A talent he’d actually only recently learned as he’d never thought of using it in such a way prior to his return from the future.

“I love it when you do that” Thea whispered softly as Kon physically massaged her back his TTK only ensuring he knew exactly where to massage instead of doing the actual work for him “it feels so good”

Leaning down Kon placed a kiss on the back of her delicate neck while his hands eased out a knot in her lower back. They still had a long way to go, as a couple and as individuals, but moments like this assured him that everything would be alright.

Because despite everything he and Thea had been through they still trusted each other enough to be vulnerable like this. He still trusted her to wash his hair for him when he couldn’t bring himself to do it himself and she still trusted him to massage her tension away without crossing her boundaries.

They still trusted one another impeccably and that alone meant they could make it.

Chapter Text

The day had finally arrived, Kon-El of Krypton/Conner Luthor (Kent) of Metropolis was officially 18. Or 3 if you were being pedantic but that’s besides the point. What mattered was it was his birthday and it was going to be epic. Ollie and Lex had been planning the party for weeks and everyone was excited.

Furthermore Thea, his best friend in the whole galaxy turned girlfriend, was in a much healthier place than she was a month ago. She was back in therapy, with a real therapist that wasn’t herself, and was actually communicating with her family again. Family dinners at the Queen household were happening on the regular again and everything was as it should be.

Furthermore Thea had finally stepped down as CEO of Wayne Enterprise after months of careful planning and there was nothing keeping her from attending. Gotham as a whole, and WE's board of directors in specific, weren’t particularly happy about this but they’d relented when they’d been informed that the ‘stress’ of the job had caused Thea’s once midnight black hair to turn white. Sure it was a lie, carefully crafted with the assistance of several powerful spellcasters, but that didn’t matter because it worked. The world was aware that Thea’s hair was now white, though a distinctly different white than the white she kept it when working as a cape. Not that she was still operating as a cape or anything, she was unofficially retired remember.

Anyway, everything was going good. Thea no longer needed to wear multiple magical artifacts to keep the illusion that her hair was still black, as hair dye refused to take for some reason apparently related to her becoming a Banshee, and everything was calm. Or at least it had been anyway. Until the eternal bane of the Wayne family, Vicki Vale, dropped the bombshell that Thea owned T’s Costumes and everything immediately went to shit in a handbasket.

The Justice League’s heavy hitters (Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Doctor Fate) had shown up in Gotham shortly after to take Thea into custody for questioning. They’d done so in broad daylight, knowing Bruce would be at WE and not out as Batman, and it had been caught on camera both by civilians and Vicki Vale herself. Worse they’d temporarily deactivated the access of all Capes with a known connection to Thea effectively ensuring they were unable to assist in any way.

Which is why he, Kon-El of Krypton/Conner Luthor (Kent) of Metropolis was presently pacing Wayne Manor anxiously as they waited for the adults (Bruce, Ollie, Dinah, and Alfred) to decide on the best course of action. He, and the rest of Young Justice, wanted to just rush the League but they’d been out voted.

Not by much mind you but still.

“Everyone shut up” Jason shouted out of no where “Thea’s made her play and Jesus fuck is it genius”

Stopping what they were doing everyone, including the adults, paused to look at what Jason was talking about. On obscenely large television the Wayne’s kept in their living room stood the League’s present spokesperson, the Green Lantern Hal Jordan. He was in what appeared to be a Watchtower conference room and, if anything, looked rather amused.

“Good day Gotham” the Lantern Hero greeted politely “per League Charter rules any individual brought in for questioning or interrogation by the League under the age of 18 may have their choice of witness. As such Theadora Drake Lance Queen has chosen that the witnesses of her questioning regarding her alleged ownership of T’s Costume shall be the citizens of Gotham”

Multiple people (Steph, Jason, Mia, Damian, and Bart) broke into laughter at the realization that Thea had officially played the Justice League. The fact that her age and birthday, while publicly available, was intentionally kept off her League records and the fact that the Queens were hosting a birthday party today likely led to this particular misunderstanding. They’d brought her in, likely at Clark’s instance, thinking she was 18 when her birthday wasn’t for a few more months.

And because they’d done so publicly they couldn’t exactly return her to Gotham without it raising a bunch of flags regarding League oversight.

Yet again Thea was 12 steps ahead in the game that the rest of them called life.

~*~

Clark would like it stated, on the record, that he didn’t actually dislike Theadora Drake Lance Queen. Objectively speaking she was a brilliant woman and competent hero. That being said he had rather strong opinions on the fact that she seemed to lack any conceivable understanding of morality and possessed a willingness to commit truly awful crimes for the sake of her own desires.

She also very openly despised him and, in his opinion, everything he stood for.

OK so maybe he disliked her a little bit. But how was he expected to like, or trust, someone who has quite literally threatened to ‘pop his head like a balloon’ om multiple separate occasions? How was he supposed to like or trust someone who routinely associated with his oldest foe, Lex Luthor, and was a known criminal with a terrifyingly large body count in her own right? Especially when she was also, apparently, the creator/owner of the world’s foremost supplier for Villains, Rogues, Henchmen, and Goons?

Seriously, how was he supposed to like or trust someone like that?

But his personal opinions on Theadora had nothing to do with the Justice League making the decision to bring her in for questioning. Yes he did vote in favor of said decision but that’s besides the point. They, the Justice League, had been looking into the owner of T’s Costumes for almost a decade now. Their shop, and the ‘Goonion’ posed a threat to the League and everything they were and the fact that both were owned by someone affiliated with the League was a very real security risk.

The fact that Theadora happened to be the owner was purely trivial. He would’ve argued for the same course of action even if the owner had ended up being anyone else.

Unfortunately what he did forget was that Theadora wasn’t like anyone else. She was arguably the smartest human being he’d even met, and that’s including individuals like Bruce and Lex, with a memory so frighteningly perfect she made him look forgetful. She was rarely if ever caught truly off guard and, even in the rare instances she was, she always had so many contingencies prepared she made Bruce’s paranoia look trivial.

All that to say he REALLY had strong opinions on Theadora Drake Lance Queen and, in that moment, very few of them were positive.

A Little While Ago

“Do you understand why you’ve been brought to the Watchtower” Diana asked her tone almost soft. She was one of the few Leagues, along with Barry Allen and Hal Jordan of all people, to vote against bringing Theadora in for questioning. Arthur Curry also didn’t vote in favor though he chose not to vote at all because ‘such petty disputes have nothing to do with the people of Atlantis’ or whatever.

Theadora sat there silently icy eyes glancing around the interrogation room lazily. She appeared almost bored Clark realized a spark of anger igniting in the depths of his chest. She was in the Watchtower, for the second time in recent weeks, to be interrogated yet again and she was bored? Does she not understand the severity of the situation? Does she not care how many people have been hurt because of her little ‘business venture’?

“You were asked a question Miss Drake” Clark stated while doing his best imitation of Bruce’s Batman growl “you’d best answer it”

The young woman turned slightly to face him. Her gaze still indicated boredom but her slight shift in their smile indicated otherwise. It wasn’t an expression Clark liked seeing in the slightest.

“I apologize Kal” she replied her tone soft and polite despite the challenge in her not quite smile “but per the League Charter no Minor may be questioned in an official capacity without the witness(es) of their choice being privy to the questioning”

“That is true” he relented as he allowed himself to smirk just a bit “but you’re not a minor”

And that was that, or so he’d thought. Until, to his horror, the woman before him smiled at him. And unlike her earlier smile, that while unsettling merely reminded him of a sleazy politician or business person, this smile reminded him of Lex Luthor.

It was the smile of a villain who knew they’d won.

“While I am legally emancipated” she started her eyes glittering with mirth as Clark’s stomach dropped “I am still only 17. And therefore, as far as the League’s Charter is concerned, still a minor”

That couldn’t be true Clark thought as Diana verified the accusation. Surely that wasn’t the case. Why in the hell would their Charter have such an easily exploitable loophole?

No, it wasn’t a loophole. It was an clause intentionally added by Bruce after they’d learned Billy Batson was the hero Shazam to ensure the young hero wasn’t exploited or cheated out of a due process due to the misconception around his age. A clause that had never been utilized, as this was the first time they’d ever needed to interrogate a minor, but still.

Wait. . .this wasn’t the first time they’d interrogated a minor. In fact they’d interrogated this very minor just a few weeks prior. So why was she only now pulling this play? He didn’t understand.

“I assume you’ll want Dinah, Ollie, or Bruce present for this then” Clark asked through gritted teeth.

It’d taken very real effort to keep said individuals out of this. He loved and respected them but he didn’t for one second believe they could be impartial for this. Bruce and Ollie both took a full 180 on their stance regarding Ifrit once he learned it was Theadora beneath the mask. So he doubted they’d be convinced that she was a threat now.

If he were in there place and Jon was in Theadora’s he’d expect them to treat him the same way.

“No” Theadora replied catching both Clark and Diana off guard “I’d like my questioning broadcasted to all of Gotham and through Oracle’s network”

And it was in that moment that Clark finally realized just how far ahead Theadora had been in the ‘game’ they’d been unwittingly playing against her.

The clause in the League Charter specified witness(es) for a reason after all.

Chapter Text

Gotham

The camera feed provided by the Justice League panned to show what appeared to be an almost comically stereotypical interrogation room. Within it a single table and three chairs, one on one side and two on the other. A full mirror was behind the double chairs most likely allowing outside observation. Honestly it looked like the interrogation room of literally every cop show ever.

In the lone chair sat a young woman, Gotham sweetheart and Wayne Enterprise's now ex CEO Theadora Drake-Lance-Queen. She wasn’t cuffed, chained, or visibly injured and both of her hands were visible to the viewers placed primly on the table before her. Across from her sat Princess Diana of Themyscira, the Wonder Woman, though the chair beside her was presently empty. It’s presumed occupant Kal-El of Krypton, the Superman, was presently standing behind Wonder Woman slowly pacing the length of the room.

“Miss Drake-Lance-Queen” Wonder Woman started her tone polite “do you consent to questioning while under the influence of the Lasso of Truth”

The young woman, Thea, glanced at the Lasso in question her pale blue eyes examining it as one would an artifact in a museum. It was evident to those watching at home that she’d seen said object before in magazines and the like though, to the trained eye, it was clear that this was not the first time she’d been given the chance to see it up close and in person. However she, like a true Gothamite, kept her awe at bay though her expression giving no entry into her private thoughts ensuring anyone unfamiliar with her believed this was her first time seeing such an iconic item up close in person.

“Under the pretense that you won’t be asking me anything about my personal life” Thea replied her Gotham accent slipping in to reveal the barest hint of a crime alley drawl “sure, you have my consent for this wildly questionable interrogation of yours”

It was clear, to those watching back in Gotham, that she was merely teasing the heroes but to an outsider or non Gothamite viewer, like Superman, he likely saw it as the Gotham heiress being both rude and intentionally difficult. Which is why no one tuning in, from Gotham or elsewhere, was particularly surprised when Superman’s eyes flashed with something akin to annoyance at the very Gothamite answer.

Wonder Woman however didn’t appear fazed in the slightest by the younger woman’s Gotham patented sass. She merely nodded before standing up to wrap her legendary Lasso around Thea’s left forearm. Then, once satisfied the Lasso was secure in its position, she opened a small folder full of what the viewers could only assume was evidence against Gotham’s resident sweetheart.

And no, the fact that Star City was her home these days did not matter to them. As far as anyone from Gotham was concerned she was a born and bred Gothamite and would forever belong to them and the city of Gotham. Star City just happened to be where her parents and siblings lived, that's all.

“Please state your full name” Wonder Woman requested her tone still polite.

“Theadora Harleen Drake-Lance-Queen” Thea replied her tone calm “though I would prefer it if you called me Thea or Miss Drake as it’s far less of a mouthful”

Gotham, as a whole, took said revelation fairly well all things considered. Probably because, in Gotham, finding out someone was related to, potentially related to, or named after a criminal was a fairly regular occurrence and all that. Honestly, if anything, it helped rationalize why Thea was so damn smart though many, silently, worried that she’d one day follow her potential relative into a life of crime. Said people then remembered that, technically, Thea was already engaging in a life of crime as the alleged owner of T’s Costume and decided they were cool with it.

After all if the young Heiress’s idea of villainy was using the potentially illegally acquired money of more legit criminals to help Gotham, and other cities/countries, flourish then they considered that a win. As far as criminal activities go she could be doing WAY worse things, including but not limited to just sitting on her vast fortune like so many others.

“Is it true that you own T’s Costume” Superman demanded as he slammed his hands against the table, denting it slightly it what was best described as a show of strength, apparently satisfied that the Lasso was working on the socialite seated before him “and if so when did you acquire it”

“Yes” Thea responded completely unfazed by the Kryptonian hero’s outburst “my mother, Janet Drake, acquired it when it was learned that her pregnancy with me took. She gave me full control over it shortly after my 5th birthday”

There was a pause as everyone, both the interrogators and the viewers around the world, processed that information. Due to the glowing Lasso still wrapped around Thea’s arm they were certain she spoke the truth but it was a difficult truth to swallow. A child, of 5 years, had been given control of what had once been a simple costume shop and turned it into the single most successful Villian/Rogue/Goon establishment in the entire world.

Holy shit.

“And yet you hide behind anonymity” Superman accused his haughty attitude the very reason many Gothamites couldn’t stand Metropolis “why”

“To ensure the trust I’ve spent over a decade building with those who visit my establishment wouldn’t be endangered by individuals like you demanding I allow you access to their personal and private information” the young woman snapped her icy gaze colder than anything Mister Freeze, Captain Cold, or the Weather Wizard could ever hope to achieve.

“So you admit you’ve been hiding your ownership to ensure criminals around the world can continue committing crimes” the Kryptonian accused his expression confident.

“No” the young woman corrected her tone still calm despite the rage visible in her eyes “I admit to keeping my identity hidden to ensure no one would fear I sold them out to hypocrites like you and your Justice League”

“Miss Drake” Wonder Woman interjected her tone laced in warning before Superman could counter her remark “if asked by the Justice League or a Country’s acting government would you provide information regarding possible future crimes being planned by your establishment’s clientele”

Everyone watching at home (ie all of Gotham and every additional city granted access through Oracle’s vast networks) found themselves on the figurative edge of their seats in anticipation. Would Thea side with those she served in her position as owner of T’s Costume? Or would they witness the fall of a titan?

“No” Thea responded evidently siding with her clientele even against the might of the Justice League “and even with a telepath you’d never successfully gain such information from me or anyone else”

Suddenly, despite having just been on the edge of their seats moments before, everyone watching found themselves back on the edge of their seats. Was Thea Drake-Lance-Queen, sweetheart of Gotham, challenging the Justice League? Was she, a 17 year old girl, challenging the likes of not only Superman but Wonder Woman and the entire Justice League as well?

“Please elaborate on that for me” Wonder Woman requested her tone, and posture, still polite despite Thea’s blatant provocation.

“Certainly” Thea responded the rage once present in her icy eyes being replaced with amusement “said information simply doesn’t exist”

Huh?

“The goal of T’s Costume has always been, and will always be, to provide goods at a fair price to all people regardless of the life they choose or end up living” Thea began turning her gaze towards where the camera recording the footage was facing so she could address the viewers in Gotham (and the world) directly “to ensure this would never change T’s Costume doesn’t keep any records of any sort regarding our clientele. I couldn’t tell anyone anything regarding those who choose to visit our establishments even if I wanted to”

“And for the record” she continued turning her gaze back to Superman “there isn’t anything in the Galaxy that could ever make me want to”

Wayne Manor

Ollie couldn’t help but smile at how brilliantly Thea had played her metaphorical trump card.

He understood, on a logical level, that his youngest daughter was both incredibly smart and wickedly cunning. He knew, through an incredibly weird meeting a few months ago, that she regularly played chess against Lex Luthor, for fun, and won FAR more often than she lost. He was distinctly aware that she had multiple degrees in a myriad of different subjects with various levels of mastery including, but not limited to, at least 4 doctorates and a legitimate law degree.

All of that to say he should have seen this coming.

And yet.

To say he was caught off guard would be the understatement of the goddamn century. She had played her game so brilliantly it legitimately made his head spin. Honestly he wasn’t even completely certain she hadn’t planned this entire situation out to the very second.

When he’d been informed that Thea had been taken into custody by the very people he considered some of his closest friends he’d feared for the worst. Yes Thea was brilliant and, as much as it pained him to admit, she’d been subjected to far worse than a relatively tame League interrogation. But as her father he couldn’t help but be worried. Thea had a habit of bringing out the absolute worst in Clark and the last thing he, or anyone excluding maybe Lex, really wanted was for the two to actually throw hands with one another metaphorical or otherwise.

Especially when he was very much aware that Thea would win said fight regardless of the semantics behind it. And, given her past experiences with fighting various versions of Clark, he’d rather not have to attend a second funeral for the man and hero he still tenetavly considered a friend.

But, back to his point, all of that is to say he’d been incredibly worried when Thea was brought in for questioning. T’s Costume’s footing in the criminal world only existed because of the trust and rapport she’d built with said community. Her identity becoming public endangered the very nature of that relationship of trust as she was now an identifiable target by both the Justice League and various world powers. A shadow figure could rule without consequence but a real person? They were fallible and, as Bruce would say, that made them a potentially dangerous security risk.

Only, in Thea’s case, that wasn’t exactly true.

By manipulating them, and that’s how he knew Clark and many others amongst their ranks would see it, into interrogating her on a stage visible by all of Gotham and, in the day of modern technology and people like Oracle, the world she put any fear in her potential as a risk to rest once and for all. The entire world now knew, with absolute certainty, that Thea couldn’t be forced to bend the knee to anyone, regardless of affiliation, because their was no knee to bend.

More importantly it proved that Thea didn’t have any secrets to share when it came to the clients of T’s Costumes and the United Goon Union. Which in a world of corporate greed and data sharing meant everything to those catered to by said organizations. In fact he’d go so far as wager that this little game of hers would only end up taking T’s Costumes and the United Goon Union to new heights.

Though, now that the interrogation was over and the cameras were off, he’d give damn near anything to witness whatever meltdown was most certainly happening up in the Watchtower.

The Watchtower

“You played us” Clark accused the moment the cameras were off and the Lasso of Truth was no longer wrapped around Thea’s arm.

“That’s not entirely true” Thea countered with a wry smile “I simply out-played you Kal”

Rage flashed through the Kryptonian hero’s eyes as he, likely not for the first time, contemplated using his heat vision against her. It was funny, in a sense, to see the paragon of goodness himself struggle to control his temper against a mere 17 year old.

“I do owe you my thanks though” she continued smiling sweetly at the look of shock now plastered on the Kryptonian’s face “without your help today T’s Costumes and the Goonion likely would’ve collapsed into little more than rubble beneath my feet”

“So thank you for ensuring such a travesty didn’t occur”

Clark, predictably, didn’t handle her goading particularly well. A fact that was noted by everyone within earshot when the older kryptonian man’s fist went clean through the wall mere inches to the left of her head. Someone, she wasn’t completely sure who, shouted in either surprise or concern while she merely regarded the man now glaring her down.

“You might’ve won this time” the Kryptonian growled his Batman-esc impression far better this time around “but sooner or later I will show the world that your nothing more than the villain we both know you are”

It was a petty remark and yet it did what Clark wanted it to his words cutting deep into her own personal insecurities. For a fraction of a second his words hurt her. And then, after the moment ended, the wound scabbed over before vanishing completely as if it had never existed to begin with.

“Did you know that I am legally banned from donating any more money in over a hundred different countries and 7 whole planets until the end of this solar cycle” she asked casually her tone almost casual “not because they don’t want my money or my assistance but because the people in charge are worried that about the worth of their currency and the stability of the galactic market because of said donations”

Though some were also worried she was only lending assistance to later exert her will against them. They were worried her donations came with strings attached and that, if they ended up being right, the price would end up being more than they could afford. Honestly it was a fair assumption given the state of the universe as a whole but on Cassie did said assumptions suck ass. How was she supposed to actually lose money if people wouldn't let her spend said money?

Anyway.

“In the last six months I’ve donated around 78.6 billion dollars in America alone to various causes outside of Gotham and Star City” she continued the small smile gracing her lips turning into a frown “would you like to know how much such donations set me back financially”

Clark, caught off guard by the change of subject, glanced back towards Diana where she now stood beside Hal Jordan who’d returned from his position as the Justice League's Liaison.

“Would the answer not be somewhere between 78 and 79 billion” Hal asked his brow furrowed in confusion.

It was a logical assumption. And, if she were anyone else, it would have likely been a really good guess. Not even Bruce could donate that much money without someone at Wayne Enterprise raising a fuss. Only she wasn’t Bruce, or anyone else for that matter. She was Theadora Drake-Lance-Queen.

And she was quite literally the richest woman in the known galaxy.

By a fairly large margin.

“It hasn’t set me back in the slightest” she corrected frowning still “after donating over 78.6 billion dollars in the US and much more around the rest of the world and galaxy I still somehow ended up making significantly more than I spent”

“Holy shit” someone, or multiple someone’s, murmured in either horror or awe.

“Anyway I have a birthday party to get to so if you don’t mind I’m just going to see my way out” she explained before taking a half step closer to the still fuming Superman her heels clicking nicely against the Watchtower’s floor “while I don’t recommend showing up in person I do hope you remember to call Kon and wish him a happy birthday”

“Are you threatening me” Clark asked his mastery of Bruce’s Batman growl growing by the minute.

“Of course not” she retorted with a not quite laugh “I just really rather not witness the still beating heart out of yet another asshole calling himself Superman being ripped from said asshole's chest”

“Once was more than enough thank you”

Chapter Text

“It hasn’t even been two hours and the rumors are already spreading” Mia laughed as she scrolled through her phone while they waited for Thea, Bart, Cassie, and Kon to return from a lunch reservation, that they'd somehow managed to still make despite the nonsense with the League, for Kon's birthday party.

It wasn’t surprising, in the least, really that Thea was trending in the gossip sphere yet again. Thea was arguably the most well known face in all of Gotham and Star City excluding maybe Bruce. This present ‘scandal’ aside it was incredibly normal for the media's attention to be on her. From what she wore and where she wore it, to what she ate and where she ate it, to whom she was friends with and her relationship with Kon everyone seemed to have opinions on practically everything the 17 heiress did.

It was exhausting honestly.

Thea had returned planet side just over an hour and a half ago and the phone of Queen Manor only stopped ringing with interview requests because Alfred had physically unplugged it. Honestly they just hoped Kon’s birthday lunch, which was taking place at a restaurant that Thea had mentioned off handedly that she'd had to make a reservation for 3 months in advance, wasn’t being ruined by the vultures that made up the press of whichever city said restaurant was in.

“My favorite” Roy interjected in an attempt to lighten the mood while he, Jason, and Lian, completed the finishing touches on the decorations for Kon’s party “is that she only requested the interrogation to be made public so she could hypnotize the public through the use of 5G connectivity”

Everyone laughed at the sheer stupidity of said rumor. People were so fucking dumb sometimes.

“Is that even something Thea's powers can do” Bruce asked his natural paranoia beating out the rational part of his brain if only for a singular moment. Even after having read Thea’s incredibly detailed report regarding her meta abilities he had more questions than answers and, thanks to his aforementioned paranoia, found said fact incredibly nerve racking. He trust Thea implicitly but the unknown variables regarding her abilities still frightened him “can her powers influence someone’s mind”

“Not exactly” Dinah replied with a shrug “I mean I know she can theoretically bend the sound of her voice to influence the mind of someone as one would with hypnotism”

Bruce nodded as he mentally filed the information away for later. That made sense considering how a Canary Cry caught on camera didn’t blow the eardrums out of anyone who watched the recording but it did leave him with several more questions. Like could such a skill be utilized safely in an interrogation? How honest would any confessions given through such an interrogation be? Would such a confession be admissible in court?

He had so many questions.

Not that any of them mattered right this very moment. At the very least his ever growing list of questions could wait until after Kon’s birthday party. After all you only turn 18 once and they’d already had 1 not quite father figure crash the party by focusing on Thea instead of the birthday boy.

Everyone was laughing, at Bruce's expense, when suddenly a scream caused everyone to freeze. That was Damian's scream several people realized all at once before immediately springing into action. Damian had been in the living room, putting final touches on the decorations while he pasively watched the news. So what could've happened to cause the youngest Wayne to scream so brokenly?

Were they under attack? Was Merlyn, or Vandal, or one of their many other foes attacking the wondered as they all rushed to the teen's aid only freezer ng at the sight of Damian standing frozen in the living room his eyes locked on the television as tears slipped down his face.

Dick approached first, to comfort his not quite son/baby brother, when his eyes caught the screen Damian was staring at. An action he deeply regretted, in part, as the sight of the words on the screen caused him to scream as well.

Breaking News: Bludhaven Destroyed in Metahuman Terrorist Attack. Millions Presumed Dead.

Bludhave, his city, was gone? Millions were presumed dead? But, that couldn't be right. It just couldn't be.

"Thea" Dick whispered hoarsely as his brain finished processing the true and complete horror they were witnessing "Thea and her friends are in Bludhaven"

~*~

Thea wasn’t sure which cosmic entity she’d pissed off or when but she fucking hated them. All she wanted was to enjoy a nice lunch with her boyfriend, and their two closest friends, for said boyfriend's birthday at a new restaurant in Bludhaven that'd Kon had been dying to try. All she wanted was to be a normal 17 year old girl for one fucking moment of her goddamn life but no.

Everything, after her return from the Watchtower, had been going great. They'd, somehow, managed to make it to their reservation on time without any real issue. They'd even managed to do so while successfully evading both the paparazzi and the press. Everything was going great.

Until three no name having, D-list belonging, League wannabe, super powered assholes decided to fuck everything up for some goddamn fucking reason.

“Thea” Kon roared as some wannabe Superman knockoff quite literally slammed her through a wall by her throat.

Did it hurt? Not really. Apparently Banshee Powers mixed incredibly well with the ‘powers’ granted from her exposer to the Lazarus Pit making her far sturdier than she’d realized or expected. That being said it was really goddamn annoying. For fuck’s sake the dress she was wearing had been a 1 of a kind commissioned masterpiece she’d bought specifically for Kon’s birthday and now it was completely ruined. And her heels, heels that cost more than most people living in Bristol paid a month in living expenses, were broken.

“I’m fine” she groaned as she got back onto her feet not even bothering to feign injury “I know child assassins that hit harder than that”

In hindsight, she probably shouldn’t have decided on antagonizing the no name having, D-list belonging, League wannabe, super powered assholes that’d attacked them while they were eating because ‘she was a threat to the war against evil’ or whatever fuck they’d been going on about earlier. Especially while she was out as Thea Drake, a 'regular' civilian.

Kon busied himself with detaching the Superman wannabe from Thea before immediately launching himself at the apparent ringleader. Bart, ingeniously, took on the aftermentioned Superman wannabe just because he could. Cassie meanwhile dealt with the woman amongst their attackers as she seemed to have some sort of magical superstrength they'd all rather not have anywhere near Kon.

“Are you sure this is the best use of your time Kryptonian” the leader of the attack mocked after a few minutes of losing his fight against Kon “the clock is ticking after all”

Something about what he’d said, and how he’d said it caused everyone to freeze. Even his allies, both the Superman wannabe and the magic weilding warrior woman, froze emphasizing just how unexpected his words actually were.

“What are you talking about” the woman asked stopping her fight with Cassie to stare at her companion in horror “what did you do”

The man, who’s mask of calm indifference was slipping to show the true madness beneath, laughed uproariously at the question. It was a laugh that, despite being different in near every way, reminded everyone there of the late Joker. Deranged, mad, and incredibly dangerous.

“I’m merely showing them the consequences of their decision to let this filth spread their toxin throughout their city” the man explained with a dark chuckle as he blatantly referenced Bludhaven's recent decision to build a T's Costume within their city after literal years of saying their was no need to do so with Gotham being just across the bay  “49 bombs hidden throughout their city ready to go of in” he paused to glance at his watch for a moment before locking eyes with Thea “just under 10 minutes”

Thea’s, and everyone else’s, blood froze at that. They had less than 10 minutes to locate and disarm 49 separate bombs hidden somewhere within a city with a population of 6+ million people? Even with all of them working together she wasn’t sure they could manage such a miracle, not in a city as large as Bludhaven.

“49 bombs” she muttered to herself already planning something akin to a strategy. Bart could probably locate all of them quickly enough but how would they diffuse them in time? Could she use her powers to do it remotely? In theory it was possible but she had never even so much as attempted to stretch her powers over such a large area before. And now she needed to do exactly that to find and diffuse 49 different explosives all in under 10 minutes? Fuck.

The man laughed uproariously once more his manic posture becoming even more deranged by the moment. He didn’t care how many people he’d hurt doing this. He didn’t care if all of Bludhaven was wiped off the map for his fucked up vendetta as long as he had his moment of ‘glory’.

“And if even one of them goes off” the man explained through his laughter with an almost showmanlike flourish “all of them will”

All of them, including the man’s allies, paled at that. They had to find and diffuse every last bomb to save the city? In under 10 minutes? Was that even remotely possible?

“Millions will die” one of the man’s other allies, the man with powers vaguely similar to Superman if Superman was considerably less powerful than he actually was, stated his horror palpable “innocent people that have nothing to do with any of this”

“Where were these people when” the man screamed the manic look in his eyes glittering dangerously as his composure faltered “where were these people when my wife was bleeding out in the street because filth like her” he pointed at Thea at this point “decided that the laws don’t matter”

Oh, Thea realized as her heart broke for the man before her. She knew that as the owner of T’s Costume she was, to some extent, responsible for the crimes committed by her clientele. But by not selling weapons, and by putting the money earned by her establishment back into the community, she’d always told herself that it balanced out the karma of it all. She’d forgotten that real people might not see her actions in such a way. She'd forgotten, or ignored, that real people suffered, and died, because of the crimes commited by the people she serviced.

But his hatred towards her and hers shouldn’t put all of these innocent people in danger. If he wanted to kill her fine, but the people of Bludhaven had done nothing to warrant such a fate.

“Don’t do this” she begged softly as she prayed the man before her still had any humanity left in his heart.

“Do what” the man asked cruelly “you still have just over 8 minutes to prove me wrong and save everyone”

And with that the singular part of her mind that was capable of feeling fear shut down completely. In its place? The cold and efficient part of her that made her capable of working alongside individuals like Ra’s al Ghul and Amanda Waller without a second thought. The part of her that only cared about completing the mission, regardless of the personal risk demanded.

“I’ll deal with the bombs” she declared sounding far more confident than she felt “the rest of you focus on getting as many people as possible out of the city while we can”

Bart, Cassie, and the deranged man's now ex-allies they’d just been fighting all nodded before running, flying, and speeding off to save as many people as they could. Kon, though planning to join them shortly, held back just for a moment.

“If you need me” he whispered, knowing she’d hear him just fine, before flying off to help save as many people as possible “just say my name”

Now alone with just her the man squared up as if physically preparing to fist fight what he presently saw as a civilian. Unfortunately for him Thea had other plans utilizing the city’s ambient sound waves to hold him in place while she focused on finding all 49 bombs.

Finding the first 1, stretching her powers far enough to be able to accurately differentiate the various sounds throughout the entire city well enough to locate a single bomb, took damn near 2 whole minutes. Finding the remaining 48 using the sounds created by the 1st one as reference? Barely another 2 minutes all together. Diffusing them all at the same time? Another 30 or so seconds.

But, in the end, she had managed to successfully do the impossible.

“You actually managed it” the man declared sound both shocked and not as he glanced at the watch on his wrist once more “impressive”

Thea smiled softly as she released the hold she had on the man. They'd done it. Between her dealing with the bombs and everyone else focusing on evacuating the civilians they'd actually managed it. They'd successfully managed to save the day.

“Too bad I lied” the man explained laughing maniacly as he pressed a button on his watch “I hid 50 bombs”

And then, before Thea even had the chance to fully process what was happening, the man exploded. And with him so too did all 49 of the bombs he’d hidden throughout the city of Bludhaven.

And despite all of her god like abilities, there wasn't anything she, or anyone else, could do to stop it.

Chapter Text

Kon had just finished verifying the safety of the most recent group of people he'd flown from Bludhaven to Gotham when he heard the man speak.

“Too bad I lied” the man mocked causing Kon's blood to freeze even as forced himself back into the air “I hid 50 bombs”

Flying as fast as he could Kon could quite literally see the man activate the trigger on his watch when suddenly a force collided with him so brutally he found himself launched back into Gotham and through the wall of a, thankfully, abandoned warehouse. He all but witnessed the bomb(s) go off and yet there wasn’t a damn thing he could do as Bludhaven was engulfed in sound.

Several Hours Later

“The barrier appears to be composed of pure sound” Bruce, Batman explained as even more heroes arrived to assist his ever present frown deeper than ever.

The majority of the Justice League, and most of the various groups known for working alongside them including but not limited to the Titans, Young Justice, and the Outlaws, had gathered to help in search and rescue efforts. Efforts that were presently on pause as no one could actually get into Bludhaven.

“But isn’t light faster than sound” someone asked for not the first time since Bruce's arrival on scene “can’t the Speedsters or Supers just fly fast enough to penetrate it?”

Bruce shook his head. Both Clark and Barry had already tried that, multiple times. The barrier was too thick for either of them to force, or phase, their way through it. Not even Bart, the fastest among their ranks could move fast enough to penetrate it. Not while every sound being made by said speedster only served to strengthen the barrier further somehow.

“I could try” Kon offered hesitantly as a thought occurred to him “if I surround myself with my TTK I might be able to make myself soundless enough to push through it”

Bruce hummed in consideration. It was, admittedly, a really good idea. Kon’s TTK had been proven capable of suppressing Thea’s powers in the past but there was no guarantee he’d be able to do such a thing safely. And if he got hurt, or gods forbid killed, it would quite literally break Thea. Especially when he was 90% sure this barrier was something she’d created somehow. And that’s not to say Thea would ever willingly or consciously hurt Kon, because they all knew she’d much rather die than hurt Kon or any of her Young Justice family, but there was a very real chance she wasn’t doing any of this intentionally.

“It’s too risky” Ollie countered even though it was arguably their best chance “I know you’re worried about Thea's safety, we all are, but if you were to get hurt Thea would never forgive anyone here for allowing you to do something so risky” the fact that she’d also never be able to forgive herself was left unsaid.

“But if she dies” Kon countered his eyes filling with tears at the mere thought of potentially losing the person most important to him “I have to do something, please”

“Do you truly believe you can do this” Clark asked shocking many with his input “without compromising your own safety do you truly believe you can make it through”

Kon nodded tightly in response. He knew their was a very real chance that he was merely being overly confident, as they’d never field tested Thea’s multiple theories regarding the potential use of his TTK as an inhibitor to her powers, but he couldn’t allow himself to second guess his decision now.

Not when Thea needed him.

~*~

Flying at top speeds while also utilizing his TTK as a soundproof and invulnerable second skin was far trickier than Kon had realized in the moment. It wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle but if this was how awful Thea felt anytime she used her powers to achieve super speed he had some serious apologizing to do later.

After he ensured her safety of course.

Brute forcing his way through the final layer of the barrier he took a second to regain his composure, and maybe throw up what remained of his lunch, while taking a moment to take in his surroundings. Despite literally witnessing the bombs go off Bludhaven didn’t actually appear to be even remotely disturbed. Excluding the destruction caused by the fight that'd started it all Bludhaven looked exactly as it had when they’d arrived for lunch. It was an initially confusing sight until, after flying around for a minute or two, he noticed it.

The man they’d been attacked by was standing exactly where he’d been when he’d triggered his watch. Only, while his entire chest was glowing as if he was mere moments from exploding, he stood frozen in place without making a sound. There was no breathing or heartbeat or any other sound humans, and most living things in general, made just by existing. It was almost as if he was frozen in time somehow.

But, all of that aside, that wasn’t what concerned him. No that privilege went to the fact that Thea, who’d been standing feet away from the man presently frozen in time before everything went to shit, wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

Taking back to the skies Kon stretched his senses as far as he could amidst the overpowering sound of the barrier above him until he heard it. Off in the distance Thea was whispering what sounded like assurances to someone. Following the sound of her voice he felt himself almost smile at the picture very quickly painting itself.

He wasn’t quite sure how but Thea was selectively freezing time throughout the city of Bludhaven to get as many people as possible to makeshift bomb shelters. And if one accounted for how far away from the man that’d attacked them he had a growing feeling that she’d been at it since the creation of the sound barrier surrounding the city.

Regardless of how long she’d been at it Thea was presently helping a family of 4 into what he was pretty sure was a sports stadium of sorts. A stadium that was literally overflowing with people. Thea was speaking to various people in hushed tones and, despite everything, putting on a strong face but Kon could see the exhaustion hugging every inch of her frame. He still had a million and one questions regarding how she’d managed to seemingly, and selectively, stop time but it was very clearly draining her.

A fact that was highlighted when, after ensuring the family was safely within the stadium behind her, she stumbled as a coughing fit wracked her delicate frame.

“Thea” he called unable to keep the horror out of his voice as his gaze focused on the blood now decorating the ground beneath Thea’s feet “you need to stop”

Thea glanced up to face him her gaze both tired and heartbroken as they locked eyes. Despite her eyes remaining their ‘natural’ icy color emerald cracks were littering her porcelain flesh as if to truly emphasize how badly whatever it was she was doing was hurting her. And that’s not even mentioning the blood reddening her lips nor the fact that, for the first time in the time he’s known her, she was sporting a bloody nose.

“Thea please” he begged landing mere inches away “you’ll die if you don’t stop”

“I can’t” she responded in a broken voice barely audible even to his super hearing between even more brutal, and bloody, coughs “if I stop millions will die”

Logically Kon both knew and understood her point. She was quite literally the only thing standing between Bludhaven’s total and complete destruction and it’s hypothetical salvation. She was quite literally the only thing giving the people of Bludhaven a fighting chance. But despite all of that and despite being one of, if not the, strongest metahuman in existence she was still only 1 person. 1, albeit only technically, human person.

And no matter how much they, and the rest of the caped community, liked to deny it 1 person could only do so much.

Moving past her slowly, as to not warn her of his intent, Kon placed his hand flat against the wall of the stadium Thea had converted into a bomb shelter. Enveloping it, and everyone within it, with his TTK wasn’t exactly easy but thanks to a lot of practice, at Thea’s insistence, over the years he was able do it without too much real difficulty. He just hoped she’d forgive him for what he was about to do next.

“I’m sorry” he whispered as his free hand caught Thea by the waist, pulling her close “but I can't lose you”

Icy eyes flashed with betrayal mere moments before Thea fell limp in his grasp, knocked out by his TTK. In the next moment, as Thea’s control over the city and time itself evaporated, the world around them erupted in a blaze of fire and destruction.

5 Days Later

Theadora Drake-Lance-Queen had spent her whole life, or the vast majority of it anyway, doing her very best to help people. To give people, all people, the best shot possible at a happy and healthy life. It was why she’d made T’s Costume a safe haven for those forgotten or hated by society. It was why she’d created the United Goon Union (UgU) and it was why she’d become a Hero in the first place.

All she’d ever wanted was to help people.

The official count of lives lost, or missing, in the wake of Bludhaven’s destruction was being reported at an estimated 3.8 million people. The exact number was three million eight hundred and seventy six thousand two hundred and fifty nine but that’s irrelevant. What is relevant is that Bludhaven’s extimated population had been 6.7 million people and now well over 3.8 million of those people were dead.

And they were dead because of her.

“Papa would be so proud” she stated morosely as tears slipped down her pale face “his perfect little Cuckoo Bird finally living up to his expectation”

Catching sight of her reflection in the small cracked vanity she kept in her panty like room within Wayne Manor she felt her frown deepen. Between her unwashed and greasy hair that was pulled into a tight bun atop her head and the wrinkled purple suit she’d worn for a video conference with the actual President earlier she could all but hear Janet Drake’s voice telling her that she looked a mess.

Worse still she could actually hear her Papa’s voice asking her where her smile was.

“I don’t think I can smile anymore Papa” she explained as the mirror before her cracked further, a small shard falling onto the desk housing the vanity “not after what I’ve done”

“You couldn’t smile back when I first became your Papa either” the Joker responded in a voice only she could hear “do you remember how we fixed that?”

Shaky fingers picked up the glass shard resting before her. She’d never really liked pain but her Papa had a point. How else was everyone supposed to see the monster Superman so clearly saw? How else was everyone supposed to see the Joker’s brilliant Cuckoo Bird for the toxic songbird it really was?

Blinking away tears Thea raised the glass shard up to her face, examining it and her reflection within it one last time, and into her mouth.

~*~

Damian wasn’t quite sure what he was doing right now. Drake was fine, he’d verified the League’s Doctors hadn’t missed anything himself, Pennyworth and Father’s assurances be damned. She was in perfect health and had even thrown herself back into her official, and unofficial duties.

But, for a reason he’d rather not discuss, he was worried.

Everyone had relocated from Queen Manor to Wayne Manor following the destruction of Bludhaven. Gotham was significantly closer to Bludhaven than Star City and larger than Queen Manor which made it a logical decision. Even the Neanderthal that was Oliver Queen understood that.

Damian was personally, though he’d never admit it aloud, overjoyed by the relocation. He’d wished the reasoning was literally anything else but he was thrilled to have everyone under one roof with him. While he did wholeheartedly believe Oliver Queen was an idiot and an incompetent he greatly enjoyed having the rest of the Queen-Lance household around.

He enjoyed having Theadora Drake around.

But that was besides the point. The point he was worried about Drake. Despite possessing the most brilliant mind he’d ever seen she'd been woefully unaffected by the destruction of Bludhaven and that just didn’t sit right with what he knew of the older woman. Sure she’d been little colder in general since taking up the mantle of Ifrit, rot in hell grandfather, but this was only a completely different level.

This was the first time the greatest hero he’d ever met had been unable to save everyone. This was the first time that, despite doing everything right, Theadora Drake had ‘failed’. And yet she was completely unbothered and carrying on as if it’d been little more than an inconvenience?

He didn’t buy it.

Richard was beyond inconsolable. The Young Justice buffoons Drake called family were all devastated. Even the two powered individuals that’d originally been on the bomber’s side were broken. Hell there were multiple members of his Father’s Justice League that’d taken time off for their mental health after the horrors witnessed during the search and rescue conducted.

And yet the woman that’d nearly wiped a city off the map because the man she loved died was completely unbothered? It didn’t make sense, it wasn’t logical.

Which brings him to where he was now. Standing just outside of the hidden pantry like room the older woman often retreated to while staying within the Manor. Officially speaking only Cain and Pennyworth knew of the room’s existence but Damian, a true master of stealth, had managed to find it recently while tailing Cain a few days ago.

And yes he was distinctly aware of how illogical that sounded. The one and only person alive that could truly tail Cain, without getting caught that is, was Drake. But Cain allowing him to tail her only meant one thing.

She was worried too.

Knocking on the not quite door to Drake’s panty like room Damian waited. And then, after a few moments, he knocked again. When this attempt was similarly ignored he pushed the door open and made his way inside.

Just in time to see Drake slice a smile into her face with a piece of glass.

Chapter Text

“Drake” Damian screamed as his almost maybe sister sliced her face open on a shard of glass “stop this madness immediately”

In response the 17 year old heiress, the ever composed and eternally perfect Theadora Drake, giggled, she fucking giggled, at him her falsely large smile actively trying to stitch itself back together. Not that it actually made it very far in healing before the blood soaked glass shard resliced through the delicate skin of her face.

“Oh look everybody” she responded before breaking out in even more deranged giggles “Robin, the bird wonder himself, has come to play”

“I know Papa would be just thrilled to have you here with us today” she continued her head lolling to the side as if she were a marionette that'd had their strings cut “but unfortunately ya gotta be at least this Cuckoo to learn how to make this Birdie smile”

For a moment Damian stood completely frozen in place. As far as he was aware Drake had never met the Joker as he had been killed by Quinn before Drake ever even took up the mantle of Robin. And yet the blood staining Drake’s face and blouse as a result of the horrifying faux smile she continued to carve into it again and again reminded Damian of the few images he’d seen of the Joker for some reason. It was horrifying in a way he couldn’t quite articulate and it scared him.

Drake, an individual he had never once truly feared despite all of her power as a metahuman, scared him.

But, after taking a moment to compose himself, Damian decided that his fear didn’t, no, couldn’t matter. Drake was actively suffering and, after everything she had and continued to sacrifice for him, the rest of his family, and the caped community as a whole, he owed it to her to step up and assist despite his own fear. He, the one she’d chosen to be her successor to the mantel of Robin, needed to do something for the woman he considered his big sister.

“Drake” he called once more as he lunged for her wrist hissing in pain as he over corrected his hand wrapping around the shard of glass instead thankfully not slicing his hand open in the process “you need to stop this”

Drake struggled against him the glass shard still in her grasp slicing deeper into Damian’s palm in the process. It didn’t yet draw blood but it wasn’t a pleasant experience by any means. Especially as Thea’s laughter began to quickly turn from hysterical to pained as tears began to spill down her face. He wasn’t sure what was causing the shift in emotion but seeing the older woman struggle as she was hurt in a way he couldn’t quite explain.

“Please,” Damian pleaded his voice barely a whisper as he continued to try and subdue the clearly distressed woman “'ukht, sister, you’re scaring me”

And that, somehow, did the trick. For the moment his words registered in her brain all of the fight left her immediately. And then, likely as a direct result from the amount of blood shed lost in the last few minutes, Drake proceeded to pass out her body going completely limp against him. Thankfully Damian had recently undergone as rather impressive growth spurt otherwise he doubted he would have been able to successfully catch the older (ex) vigilante as she went down.

Now he just needed to figure out how to get Drake downstairs and into the Cave’s medbay. Preferably without anyone, specifically Todd, finding them prior. Why was it that the first time he truly needed one of Drake’s rather ingenious, if not unconventional, contingencies there wasn’t one? Drake even had a fucking plan for what to do if one of them was forcibly shape shifted into an animal, Code: Red Rabbit, so why didn’t she have one for this?

Wait.

There was a contingency that, despite asking Richard about it, had felt out of place amongst the rest. It explained nothing in concrete words but vague implications, a fact that was so unlike Drake’s normal planning style. If he was remembering it correctly, which he was pretty sure he was, it dealt with unexplainable fits of laughter. He didn’t remember all of the finer details, he’d only skimmed it once when he'd first gotten access to all of Drake’s various files back when the older woman passed down the mantle of Robin, but he remembered the basic rundown.

Which is why, after taking a few moments to ensure Drake was still breathing, he found his phone and called Oracle’s direct line. He then proceeded to wait exactly 4 seconds before hanging up and calling once more. This would, in theory, trigger one of Oracle’s emergency indicators and ensure the older woman dropped whatever it was she was doing to assist.

“Robin” Barbara responded answering the call before the first ring even started “what’s wrong”

“We” Damian started his voice shaking despite his best efforts to remain calm “we have a Code Double J”

“I can't” he continued pausing once more in his continued attempts to compose himself “I can’t give my exact location but Black Bat knows how to find us. Please send her for an immediate extraction”

“Canary has been subdued safely but she’s lost a lot of blood”

~*~

“I want to see her” Bruce demanded as Dinah blocked him from accessing the Batcave. His Batcave.

Dinah was the first to arrive at the Batcave after Barbara informed everyone of import of what was happening. Part of her quick return was due to the fact that she was already heading back after spending most of the day going to various shelters around Gotham, with a slight focus on shelters housing those displaced from Bludhaven, to ensure they had as much support as possible. But the real reason she’d arrived first was because she broke damn near every traffic law while speeding back to ensure she’d be the first one there for this very situation.

“I know you’re worried Bruce” she assured him her voice soft “but I promise it’s for the best that you, Dick, and Jason are kept away from her right now”

Bruce grunted as he acknowledged what the woman before him wasn’t saying. While his understanding of the situation was distressingly limited he did have a basic grasp of what Code Double J pertained to. And while no one would tell him anything concrete he had his theories. Theories that were very quickly gaining credibility every time he caught the sounds of Thea’s not quite deranged laughter in the distance.

“Please Dinah” he begged grateful that his long time friend was looking out for him and his sons but unwilling to stand aside while Thea needed him “she’s my daughter too”

Dinah fought the urge to strangle the man at that. She hadn’t yet forgiven Bruce for his many, many, many transgressions against her youngest and, honestly, doubted she ever truly would. That being said she would reluctantly acknowledge that Bruce had really begun to step up after that heart to heart following Thea’s ‘fight’ against Superboy-Prime awhile back and had been acting like a really father figure to Thea. Furthermore he’d actually begun seeing a real therapist regularly to better ensure he could be the father his children, all of his children, deserved. Which, honestly, was the real reason she wasn’t verbally eviscerating him for his claim as a parental figure to Thea. Because she believed the sincerity in his voice based on his recent actions.

“Fine” she relented not quite moving out of the way just yet “but if it gets to be too much for you Bruce, or if you think your incapable of setting aside your own personal issues for her sake, you will leave immediately. Do I make myself clear?”

Bruce nodded his conviction firm. He understood that seeing Thea like this, and learning exactly how badly he’d failed his youngest daughter over the years, would be painful for him. But she needed him and nothing was going to prevent him from helping in any way that he could.

That being said, seeing Thea laughing hysterically, much like the Joker had throughout his time terrorizing Gotham and the world over the years, while sitting atop a bed within one of the cave’s holding cells was incredibly painful.

“Why is she in a containment cell” he asked his heart in his throat at the sight before him “did she hurt someone? Is that what triggered this?”

Dinah shook her head but said nothing, instead handing the older hero a tablet with the full Code: Double J contingency pulled up. According to the contingency, written by Thea herself, she was to be placed in a special containment cell away from any and all potential weapons until the situation could be assessed by Dinah, Harley, and the presently retired Rosaline.

“Cass and Damian hadn’t read the warnings attached to the contingency and attempted to give her an emergency blood transfusion while she was unconscious. Unfortunately she woke up mid way through and tried to use the needle as a weapon on herself which resulted in them being forced to sedate her before moving her to the cell” Dinah explained as she pulled up the monitors located within the cell “thankfully her regenerative abilities appear to be working to some extent otherwise Damian worries that the blood loss she’s suffered would’ve proven fatal”

Bruce took a half step closer towards the cell, suddenly very grateful that while they could see Thea she couldn’t see them, as the first tear slipped down his face. This, Thea’s present suffering, was all his fault. If he’d been a better mentor, a better father, he would’ve killed the Joker for what he’d done to Jason. And then none of this would be happening.

“How” he asked his heart breaking at the sight before him “how do we help her through this?”

“I don’t actually know” Dinah admitted softly “Harley handled the initial stages of her recovery herself before sending her to me. Bart is on his way to Bludhaven to grab Harley now”

“The rest of Young Justice are working on locating Rosaline” she continued with a frown “I hate to bring her out of retirement like this but I hate seeing my daughter suffering like this even more”

Bruce nodded in understanding fully understanding Dinah’s internal conflict. It took a lot of deep introspection for one to decide to leave the hero game completely. Most didn’t and the few that did typically ended up returning within the first year or so of their ‘retirement’ of their own volition. So for them to ask someone to come back before they were ready wasn’t something anyone took lightly.

They just hoped Rosaline, and Harley, could help their daughter.

Bludhaven

Harley was having a pretty wonderful day all things considered. The Justice League’s Search and Rescue efforts had ended a day or so ago, after it’d been confirmed by both the authorities and various Capes, including multiple Supers, Spell Casters, and Telepaths that there was no one living left awaiting rescue, but cleanup efforts were in full swing. And, in a move that shocked the world, they were being led by none other than Lex Luthor, and a rather large group of not completely terrible villains/rouges and their goons/henchpeople.

There’d been some push back of course. After all, who in their right mind would enthusiastically trust the bad guys with such a task? But there was no one left to save. And, as Lex, Harley, and several others had argued, who better to deal with the horrors remaining than the villains many viewed as responsible. It wasn’t exactly atonement, there was no atonement for the various crimes some of them had committed over the years, but it was the least they could do to help.

They owed it to Thea to at least try.

All of that to say Harley was doing alright mentally. Sure she’d been forced to face the horrors of what’d she and various others like her had done in the past, even if nothing she or anyone present had ever done was quite this bad, though there had been a few similar situations during her time with Mista Jay, but it was almost healing in a way. Like she was removing even just a sliver of the red painting her ledger. But all of that changed when her Tweaty Bird’s little Zippy friend, Bart or Impulse or whatever his name was, showed up in Bludhaven where she and Pam were doing their part to help with cleanup.

“Sorrytobotheryou” the boy apologized speaking a mile a minute “butBlackCanarysaiditwasanemergency”

Harley didn’t even have the chance to say anything before, not even a second later, they were standing in the Batcave.

A Batcave full of laughter.

Chapter Text

A month had passed since Thea's ‘episode’ and she still hadn’t been cleared to be released from her containment cell within the Batcave. And though no one wanted to admit it they were beginning to worry that, if a breakthrough didn’t occur soon, she might not recover at all. And, to make matters worse, the media of both Gotham City and Star City had begun to take issue with the fact that Thea hadn’t been seen in over a month.

“I don’t understand” Ollie admitted softly as they, the adults of the Wayne and Queen families, had a sit down with Harley and Rosaline “her mental state isn’t improving at all, if anything it’s deteriorating more”

“Recovery isn’t linear” Rosaline countered flatly knowing the man understood that.

Ollie, like the rest of them, was just scared. Scared that the Thea they knew, the Thea they loved, would never return to them. Scared that the break to her mind that’d happened as a direct result to Bludhaven’s destruction would never fix itself.

“On the up side, she’s almost completely stopped with the laughing” someone pointed out in a vain attempt to booster everyone’s spirits.

“That’s true” Bruce agreed softly grateful for the respite such a fact most certainly brought to both Jason and Barbara “but the wounds on her face aren’t healing”

A fact that was deeply concerning when one remembered that Thea, thanks to her repeated exposure to the Pits and her nature as a Banshee, had impossibly good regenerative abilities. So the fact that the wounds she’d carved into her face weren’t even beginning to show sign of healing as they should was concerning. It’d been over a month and yet her wounds still looked freshly inflicted.

“Maybe it’s a defense mechanism of sorts” Dinah offered softly despite the fact that they had no evidence of such a fact “maybe her control over her powers is so precise she’s subconsciously shut them off entirely to ensure she wouldn’t hurt anyone by mistake”

 “That’s not completely right” Harley countered as she exited the cell Thea was staying in to rejoin everyone near the Batcomputer her cheerful tone offset by the sadness visible in her gaze “sure her control is what kept us from havin’ our brains liquefied by her laughter but that’s not why she’s not healin’. No she’s not healin’ cause she believes the wounds on her face belong there”

Dinah and Bruce frowned at the reformed villain’s statement. Both understood where she was coming from but they didn’t necessarily agree with her assessment. Thea was the smartest, and most logical, person either of them knew. Surely she understood that the devastation of Bludhaven wasn’t actually her fault, right?

“Yous guys don’t understand” Harley explained before either could argue against her “Mista Jay wanted to make her his ultimate weapon, the perfect Cuckoo Bird to destroy the Bat and his Birds from the inside out in the most painful way imaginable”

Bruce tensed as he remembered Harley’s arrest all those years ago. As he remembered recognizing the gun used to kill the Joker as the same one that’d been used to kill his parents so many years prior.

“But my Tweetie Bird had never so much as used a gun yet alone taken a life before” Harley continued her voice cracking as the tears began to fall “so he, no, we made her practice on sandbags”

“Mista Jay put people in them” she continued softly the guilt she felt clear in her voice “innocent people he’d dressed like his dear old Batsy and his precious Birds”

“Then” Harley’s voice barely a whisper as she continued “as if to celebrate he carved a smile into her face”

Bruce and Dinah shared a glance as Harley’s words sunk in. The picture that’d only been half visible in their minds was now fully developed and neither individual liked what they saw. Thea had taken the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people in her time within the caped community. As the infamous Ifrit she’d killed civilians and capes alike without so much of a shred of guilt or inkling of remorse.

But this was different. She’d never, as far as any among their ranks had been aware prior to this moment, taken an innocent’s life.

Innocent people had died and a madman had used Thea to justify it. And then, while she was likely grieving the horrors that’d occurred, he’d carved a permanent reminder of it all into her face. Sure it wasn’t exactly the same, the motivation of the Joker and the man responsible for Bludhaven’s destruction were, as far as anyone could be certain, completely different. But the blame Thea felt as a result, regardless of the differences between the two situations, was the same.

And, in her mind at least, the scars she’d re-carved into her face allowed her to show the world exactly what kind of monster she believed herself to be.

“It’s all my fault” Bruce stated his own guilt for the Joker’s influence on Thea at the forefront of his brain “if I’d been a better mentor, a better father, none of this would be happening”

Two Weeks Later

“She’s stopped eating again” Ollie complained as he entered Wayne Manor’s kitchen the now cold plate Alfred had delivered to Thea’s cell earlier the delicious meal atop it completely untouched “I don’t think she’s sleeping anymore either”

“She’s not” Kon confirmed his super hearing as honed in on Thea as it’d been since their return from Bludhaven “some of the more passive aspects of her powers have begun working again”

“Namely her hearing”

The room, while not quite silent as Mia and Alfred were presently finishing their preparations for supper, groaned in response. While the slander being spread via word of mouth regarding Bludhaven’s destruction was shockingly light it still existed. But that’s not including how the media had taken to playing nonstop stories of the various ways the people of Bludhaven, and the visitors that’d been within the city, had been affected by the travesty. Nonstop reels of the horrors faced by everyone they didn’t manage to save with practically nothing on all the lives that had been saved.

Furthermore multiple media sourced had taken to talking to ‘experts’ about how the blame of Bludhaven’s destruction rested on the shoulders of Thea and the clientele of T’s Costume Shop.

“Let me talk to her” Clark offered surprising literally everyone both by his input into the situation and his not quite welcome presence in Wayne Manor “I know Thea and I have never really gotten along but, if we’re being honest with ourselves, I’m probably the only one here that even comes close to truly understanding what she’s going through right now”

The room fell silent as the Kryptonian Hero’s words sank in. The painful reminder of the guilt that had nearly destroyed Clark immediately after the destruction of the Kryptonian City of Argo. Of the fact that, despite all of his power, he’d been able to save the last true remnant of the lost planet of Krypton. How, had he not angered the madman known as Brainiac, the City of Argo might not have been destroyed at all.

How, even now years later, he still blamed himself for Argo’s destruction. How, sometimes, he was certain Kara blamed him for it too.

“Do you think it’ll help” Dinah asked her hesitance palpable “its not that I doubt your intent Clark but Thea quite literally despises you”

“Understatement of the century” someone, likely a member of Young Justice, grumbled sardonically.

“You’re right” Clark agreed sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck “but it’s the least I can do given the part I play in her feelings of guilt”

~*~

Clark rapped his knuckles against Thea’s cell door gently before, silently, slipping inside. Kon would be listening in with his super hearing to ensure Clark didn’t open his mouth just to insert his own foot. Additionally Bart was standing at the ready to remove him from the premises if such an incident were to occur. And Cassie? She was most certainly waiting in the wings to beat his ass if such a removal proved necessary.

Thea however didn’t so much as glance in his direction despite the fact that they both knew she was aware that Clark had entered the space with her. No she just continued to stare at the wall of her cell her pale eyes glazed and unfocused as tears dried atop her cheeks.

“Has anyone released an official count yet” Clark asked softly as he remembered how frantically he’d scoured reports immediately after the destruction of Argo “or is it all just speculation still”

“Three million, eight hundred and seventy six thousand, two hundred and fifty nine human lives were lost in the destruction of Bludhaven” the young woman explained before giggling softly “Papa would be so proud”

Clark blinked in genuine surprise at such a response. When he checked earlier in the day the official estimate was merely somewhere around three and a half million. He’d not realized anyone had yet reported the number so specifically. So how did she. . .oh.

“A Banshee knows when a life is at its end” he stated almost absent mindedly as he remembered an something Diana had told him once years ago after an interaction with Janet of the Secret Six had left the Amazonian demi-goddess worse for wear “is that right”

Thea shrugged her body moving much like a marionette doll being maneuvered by their strings, exaggerated to a fault but lifelike enough if not for the fact that the motion was lacking any real thought behind it. Though it wasn’t like she knew how to explain how she knew the answer to his question. After all how does one explain that not only did they know exactly how many people had died but that they knew all of their names and faces too.

How could she explain that she’d felt the final moments of each and every life lost in the destruction. That she'd felt their pain knowing that despite how she possessed near infinite power she was absolutely powerless to save them when they needed her most. That it was entirely her fault their lives were being ended long before their time.

“Is that why your here” she asked her near maniacal tone completely devoid of the venom Clark knew her for despite the fact that, for the first time since his arrival, her icy green gaze was locked onto him “to celebrate the fact that the world now sees that I’m every bit the monster my Papa dreamed I'd be”

“Every bit the monster you’ve always known I was”

Fuck, Clark swore as he realized he’d been treating Thea with the exact same disdain and distrust as Lex had shown him since learning he wasn’t human. The same distrust Bruce had shown him when they’d founded the Justice League together all those years ago. A fact that was only made so much worse when he remembered that Thea was still only a child. Sure she was a child that could, quite literally, ‘pop his head like a balloon’ but she was still just a child.

“Actually” Clark started as he sat down upon Thea’s bed gently “I’m here to thank you”

Thea blinked in genuine surprise her gaze flickering with the first real flash of emotion since her ‘containment’ had begun nearly two months prior. Wide icy eyes looked up and into the older Kryptonian’s eyes confusion replacing the emptiness if only for a few seconds.

“Bludhaven had an estimated population of 6.7 million people” Clark explained his voice soft “not including the approximately 1.2 million people believed to be visiting for work or pleasure at any given time”

“According to the Justice League’s not yet published incident report the three active members of the Young Justice team present and the two assailants turned allies managed to, under your leadership, save just over 3.4 million people in the less than 10 minutes you had before the explosion occurred”

“And that’s not even including the .7 million we estimate you managed to save entirely on your own while the city was contained within the barrier of sound you’d created”

Thea blinked as fresh tears began to slip down her face. Who cared how many people they had managed to save? Over 3.8 million people were dead, or missing, and it was all her fault.

“Who cares how many people lived when it’s my fault” she asked before pausing to let out a broken sob “it’s my fault 3.8 million innocent people died”

Clark frowned both happy and heartbroken by the development happening before him. On the one hand he was thrilled that, for the first time in nearly two months, Thea appeared nearly completely cognizant. On the other hand however he was absolutely heartbroken that she, a girl not yet even 18 years old, was carrying such guilt. Heartbroken because, whether he was willing to admit it out loud or not, he felt responsible for the guilt she bore.

Had he handled things differently maybe none of this would’ve happened.

But that wasn’t true was it? Of course it wasn’t. But Thea didn’t know or understand that. She, for reasons he’d rather not think about, believed it was her fault this tragedy had occured. She believed that her ownership of T’s Costume, and her position as a ‘villain’, were directly responsible for all of this.

But that just wasn’t true.

“It hasn’t been announced to the public yet” he started, carefully considering his every word “but according the Justice League’s top investigators (ie Bruce, Barry, and shockingly enough Hal) the man responsible for this had been planning it for almost 9 months”

“So yes” he continued softly “that man did use your presence to justify his actions. But who’s to say he wouldn’t have just blamed someone else had you and your team not been there”

Thea blinked icy eyes refilling with fresh tears as Clark’s words sunk in. The man had been planning his attack for almost 9 months? But she’d only been revealed as the owner of T’s Costume some 2 or so months ago. Which means said fact likely had little real impact on the attacker’s decision. Which meant that anyone viewed as ‘filth’ by the now dead assailant could’ve been utilized as a substitute had she not been there that day.

Which meant there was no guarantee that had Dick, or any other hero/villain, been there in her place the same tragedy wouldn’t have occurred anyway.

“Thea” Clark called tilting her chin upwards with a gentle hand to ensure he could look her in the eyes for what he was about to say “had it not been for you and your friends being there it’s a incredibly likely we’d be mourning the loss of a lot more people right now”

Tears she’d been refusing to shed slipped down Thea’s face at the assurance hidden in Clark’s words. At the assurance that, however difficult for her heart to accept, Bludhaven’s destruction wasn’t entirely her fault.

“Furthermore” Clark said releasing his hold on her to stand back to his full height “it’s my understanding that its entirely thanks to you that Gotham wasn’t completely destroyed too”

Thea blinked in confusion at that. Had something happened to Gotham that she wasn’t aware of? Had there been more bombs than the 50 she knew about? Surely she would’ve heard something about that by now despite how trapped in her own mind she'd been right?

“The aftershocks triggered by Bludhaven’s destruction resulted in several earthquakes between magnitude 6.4 and 8.7 throughout the city of Gotham” Clark explained as he all but saw the gears turning in the 17 year old genius’s head “no casualties have been reported thus far but both Bruce and Commissioner Gordon agree that had it not been for all the money and time you’ve spent on improving and repairing the city’s infrastructure over the years Gotham would likely be nothing more than a No Man’s Land right now”

“So thank you Thea” he finished softly a warm smile gracing his features as he watched in real time as the raw wounds carved into Thea’s face slowly began healing themselves “thank you for proving me wrong and being the hero everyone’s always told me you were”

~*~

“Conner” Clark called upon locating the younger Kryptonian where he’d been lurking within the Batcave “may I speak with you for a minute”

Thea had cried herself to sleep in Clark’s arms following their heartfelt talk and was now being looked over by Bruce and everyone. Clark doubted their conversation had been enough but, according to Rosaline, it appeared to have triggered the breakthrough they’d been hoping/waiting for. J, the fractured aspect of Thea’s mind ‘created’ to protect her, had begun to relinquish their control. Nothing was certain just yet, as healing still wasn’t linear, but they were far more hopeful than they had been mere hours ago.

That being said one singular moment of kindness didn’t eliminate years of unaddressed issues. It didn’t magically fix Clark’s relationship with his not quite son and it certainly didn’t make the younger heroes Conner called family trust, or even like, him.

But maybe it had afforded him a chance to, at the very least, apologize.

“What do you want to talk to him about” Cassie asked her tone laced with the same venom Thea usually favored when speaking with him as she blocked him from getting anywhere near Kon “expecting him to say thanks or somethin just cause you proved you can be somethin other than a total ass sometimes”

“Wha-no, that’s not” Clark stuttered not quite sure what he’d said or done to upset Kon’s friends this time around “I wanted to apologize”

Cassie blinked before taking a small startled step back. Clearly she had been expecting a fight or something. And based on the fact that Bart was vibrating menacingly at the edge of his peripherals he’d wager the feeling was far more universal than he’d realized.

“Apologize?” Kon asked his voice soft, hesitant, with just the barest sliver of well hidden hope.

Clark nodded his nerves higher than ever before. Why was it that he could out argue the great Perry White without issue but when it came to speaking to this small group of Young heroes he always seemed to lose his nerve?

“The way I’ve treated you, your friends, and Thea over the years is abhorrent and while it isn’t nearly enough I’d like you to know that I’m truly sorry”

“And while you are under no obligation to even consider saying yes I would really like the chance to prove that I can be the man you’ve always wanted, no, needed me to be”

Kon, Cassie, and Bart all blinked in unified surprise at that. Never in any of their wildest imaginations had they ever even dared to dream Clark would ever say anything even remotely close to that. But was it too late? Did Kon, or any of them, have it in them to even consider giving Clark a chance to make amends?

“One chance” Kon murmured softly, the eternal hope that Clark could learn to show him even half the love he showed Jon, burning bright “but if you hurt us, any of us, again”

Clark swallowed before nodding. He didn’t need the younger Kryptonian to finish that thought. Not when he could feel the glares coming from Cassie and Bart so vividly upon his flesh he almost wondered if they had acquired heat vision too.

And certainly not when Bruce had taken the time to show him footage of Thea’s very much one-sided ‘battle’ against Superboy Prime.