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Chapter Text

Between worlds they began to hear cries, sobs, pleas, and sounds that none of them wanted to hear.

The king and his brothers were suffering at the hands of those they believed to be family.
While in the infinite realms his subjects could do nothing, only stay safe on the other side of the portal as their king had commanded them. But even the king of the infinite realms, considered the most powerful and fearsome being among all the worlds, has a creature above him.

Black claws appear opening the space between worlds near a sealed portal known to all the locals in the area. The place where these claws come from seems to be a completely dark place, as if the darkness itself was capable of materializing. Out of the darkness, a black creature emerges with white shades as bright as the sky, a being of delicate appearance but capable of destroying entire realities.

Its core only conveys a feeling of unease and rage, as it slowly approaches the portal. His nerves are dissipating and turning into resolve, each time he feels the screams from the other side of the portal fading away. He is only a few feet from the portal until he hears a clock hand moving.

- You know you shouldn't be here, right?” says a voice not too far away.

The entity resembling a condensation of black and white clouds turns around with an expression of disbelief in his eyes.

- Cronos... don't you listen to them? Aren't they supposed to be your protégés? Isn't he our King?

The clockwork ghost changes form to a more adult one as he remains expressionless and with a hurt voice replies.

- This is how it has to be. Time cannot be changed this time.

The entity opens its eyes in disbelief, its hands shake with anger and an energy ripples out of it from its pent up emotions, making the phantom zone tremble.

- AND I'M SUPPOSED TO STAND HERE QUIETLY!? she screams without realizing what her power is capable of doing.

- RELAX!” Clokwork shouts as he sees that the energy does not stop coming out of the entity.

The entity seems to realize what he is doing; with his hands still shaking and a guilty expression, he puts his hands to his chest, hoping to feel something more than his emotions coming out in waves.

Slowly, he seems to stop and turns his gaze painfully to his supposed master.

- Don't you think it's been a long time? They have been experimenting with them for years and we, even though we can hear part of their tortures, do nothing about it.

First was the king, who simply disappeared with the order to return and stay in the infinite realms, after weeks without knowing about him, his sister/clone who is not affected by the king's order went to look for her brother, disappearing with him and beginning to be heard from the portal the screams of her sister/clone who is not affected by the king's order went to look for her brother, disappearing with him and beginning to be heard from the portal the screams of their cores. Months later the third alpha appeared with an order from his master, but the expression he showed had traces of anxiety and concern before crossing the portal and joining the screams of his brothers.

- I know it was you who let that corrupted alpha out, Cronos. You were able to do nothing even knowing that someone is suffering because you ordered him to go there? hahahahaha don't see how much they can hate you right now,” said the entity ungraciously waving his hands nervously.

The screams of the cores coming from the now sealed portal seem to cease for the first time in 5 years. The cloud entity turns around looking at the portal with trepidation and fear emanating from it. It turns its gaze back to its master.

- Tell me it's not too late.

Clokwork does not respond as it changes to the form of a baby and closes its eyes with a pained expression.

The entity turns towards the portal ready to destroy that which seals it and save the alphas, but her body remains immobile. She struggles against the power of her master and manages to get out of his domain. When she turns around to face her former master, she is surprised to see the watchers at her side.

- Guardian of the infinite realms, it saddens us to tell you that it is impossible for her to go to this human world or any other... Her power is too much to bear, even our realm suffers from her outbursts. Give it some thought before destroying another world.

The watcher's words seemed to hurt the entity's feelings and made her back away from the portal, she thought of a solution, another way, but louder screams than before ceased her thoughts.

- I'll do anything, just let me get them out of there, I can bring them back and return to my domain without affecting this reality,” she said thinking quickly of a solution with the intention of ignoring the watchers.

- And what about the other realities, are you willing to assume the destruction or damage that your stay or movements may cause to the realities,” answered Cronos with sorrow in his words.

- I...I can, I just have to .... I know! I can create a duplicate with most of my power in it to stay in my domain so nothing will happen, right?” she directed her gaze to cronos, being accompanied by the observers who were looking for the answer from the one who can see if it will work or not.

He only nodded with doubt and sighed.

- We won't change your mind, whatever we say.

The entity smiled with relief and quickly created a duplicate supplying more power than she had. When she thought it was enough, she turned around ready to break the faces and souls of the ingrates who mistreated the little ones, but the voice of Cronos stopped her.

- It is still not enough, you must give him more power- looking at the duplicate.

The entity turned around tired of having so many obstacles to leave the realms and transmitted more power to his duplicate, he looked at his master waiting for him to tell him when to stop, but time passed and he still did not tell him anything.

When he began to feel that even maintaining his form was costing Cronos spoke.

- So you won't cause any trouble in this world. I hope you can forgive me for what may happen.

- What do you mean by that?” the answer he received was a push towards the supposedly closed portal which he broke with a single blow of his own.

The rage he felt for the treatment he received from his master joined the rage he already felt for the screams of the children and the pain he felt for the loss of his power was covered by the determination he felt to get the children out of there.

Chapter Text

How long had it been? Where was it supposed to be? “CRACK” What was that sound? “CRACK”

- Honey could you pass me the harder hammer? Her bones seem to get stronger as they shrink. I wonder what will happen if I use a chisel on this one mmmm....

Those voices are familiar, but who were they from “CRACK” “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGH”

- Shut up!!!!- Said a voice full of venom near him to stop him from screaming.

The red and green stained boy opened his eyes wearily and visualized the woman who seemed to be searching for something inside his chest “CRACK” one of his ribs rang again. The little boy no longer had tears to let fall as he endured the pain, he knew his pleas no longer worked, they never worked on these people.

He heard another bone breaking, but felt no pain, he looked up and looked around the room where the sound was coming from “CRACK” He shivered and looked up this time with the intention of finding someone he knew was there.

In front of him was a slightly tilted table just like his own, with a child that looked familiar. Her small hands clenched tightly trying to get rid of the grips she knew she couldn't destroy to be closer to that child.

He could feel that it was not the only time he had done it, he felt fear just by moving, but that did not stop his attempt. The boy in front of him noticed his movements by looking up, and with fear in his eyes tried to tell him not to move, but the sound of a familiar machine stopped his movements along with a silent scream.

- ¡! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!- he screamed and collapsed as she felt the familiar electric shock coursing through her body. She felt her fingers go cold and her eyes burn. She was afraid and couldn't do anything that wouldn't result in pain.

The boy in front of him frowned in pain and glared hatefully at the woman in front of him, but the woman seemed unfazed.

If it weren't for the fact that she hadn't seen herself in a mirror in so long, she could easily think she was in front of one. Identical children in front of each other, their chests opened by a Y-shaped incision and poked inside each one by a different person.

- Look at his regeneration seems to be slower than before, his bones don't regenerate as fast as they used to. How is yours doing,” commented the huge man with joy, smashing his ribs with an already stained hammer.

The woman just laughed without looking at her husband, focusing on her work.

- It won't be long now, love, just a little more and we will be able to get these ghosts out of your body,” said the woman with the desire to be able to end this experiment. So many years had desensitized them to the screams of the children, but they were tired of not receiving the expected result.

The red-eyed boy averted his gaze to the table next to the green-eyed boy. A small thing, a girl, much smaller than them was being held in the same manner as they were, with the only difference being her supply of ectoplasm.

The couple quickly realized that the little girl could not endure the same as the children. She decomposed easily and for a moment they thought about letting her go to find out what the outcome was, but something inside them thought it would be more beneficial if they left her alive for science.

She didn't have the ability to regenerate like they did and they didn't need to break her ribs to get to her heart constantly. “CRACK” ”AAAAAAAAARRRGGHH!”

- At last!!! You're finished, cupcake, her bones can't regenerate anymore- He turned with joy to see that his wife had accomplished the same thing.

The green-eyed boy raised his eyes in fear towards the red-eyed boy. Their core stopped screaming from the fear they felt at what the couple were trying to do.

The room was quieter than it had ever been, they felt like even time had stopped, something they had expected to happen a long time ago. They knew what they were about to do, but they also didn't know how they could stop them.

- Alright little ones~ Now the four of us together will see what you are capable of and decide to get out of there with a little help- said the woman with a smile on her face.

She turned and walked to the nearby table next to her husband, together with a hopeful smile they pulled out claws dipping them in what the little ones knew was blood flower extract. They lifted only two claws, looked at them and then looked at the little girl at the unlit table.

- Cupcake, she wouldn't be able to bear the ghost's boot, her body is sustained by it, that's why we have to save these two children, one of them is the real Danny, we have to make his body rest in peace- He said sadly.

- You are right honey... We have to do this, for our child- she said with more and more determination in her words. With one last hug they each headed off with their claws ready to take out the ghosts of the children.

They looked at each other and nodded at the same time directing their gaze towards the place where their claws were pointing. The children had no time to say anything when they felt their hearts being pierced by what one might describe as fire destroying their insides.

They didn't feel like they could breathe; even though they didn't need to, their stomachs contracted in pain and they felt the claws reach for what the pair wanted to pull out... Their cores.

They felt the somehow cold claws squeezing their cores, not just to rip them out, but to tear it apart. When they felt it wouldn't hold any longer one of the cores resulted with a crack. The green-eyed boy screamed in pain and this time the fear imposed on him from years ago didn't stop his words.

- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP NO NO NO NO NO NO, IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!!- The boy screamed struggling against the claws and grips that held his hands and feet.

The boy in front of him opened his eyes feeling that his core could not take any more and would end up just like that of the green eyed boy. He watched as the pair began to pull and their cores gave way to the force they felt.

They were afraid, terrified and most of all they felt indescribable pain. Their cores could not stand the silence and screamed for help. Someone, anyone. I just wanted them to stop.

The pair were about to achieve their purpose until an explosion behind the pair seemed to unsettle the scientists' concentration. The children felt the force of the claws stop and their cores could rest. They slumped on the tables looking toward the site of the explosion with some terror.

They visualized smoke spreading through the room, which gradually turned from gray to black, they saw how the couple's breathing gradually slowed down and could see them because of the drop in temperature. Black smoke spread across the ceiling, seeming to engulf the whole place like a black wasp.

- Honey, are you seeing what I'm seeing,” said the woman with some fear in her words.

Her partner did not respond, but only began to tremble, losing all color of his skin and falling to his knees on the floor still seeing the center of the abyss.

The woman ran close to her husband but felt that her legs could not support her weight and she fell close to her husband, looking at him and looking for something to know what was going on, what was her husband seeing, why was he acting like that?

She turned her gaze to the abyss and saw two white eyes that seemed to be directed at her husband, but when she found herself looking at them she felt something inside her shatter and she was left in the hands of that being. As if she were a puppet she felt her chest stop moving, as well as her husband's.

As if they were dead, but aware of the pain their bodies were feeling.

And just as the abyss stretched across the room a being emerges from it as if it wanted to get somewhere. With black claws it reaches the floor, making itself smaller in order to enter the room. It looks at the couple with hatred clear in its white eyes, but averts its gaze to the tables in front of it.

As she slowly approaches the tables ignoring the couple on the floor, hands emerge from the shadows breaking the restraints holding the three children and skillfully pulls the claws out of the children's chests and wraps them in her darkness pulling the three children close to her chest ready to give them all the ectoplasm necessary.

With sad eyes she looks down to find the children breathing hard looking for a way out without being able to move and the girl completely still and surrendered. With clear sadness she lulls them and gently presses them against her looking for a different reaction other than the fear and pain of their cores, but they seem not to be present at that moment. So she decides to hide them under her blanket of clouds, isolating the children temporarily.

Once she is sure that the children are safe with her she turns around, preventing her emotions from coming out scaring the children she glares at the couple still kneeling on the ground.

- I wish you could look at you, if someone came in and saw you they would think you were dead hahahahaha... but we know better- She said coldly digging her claws into their faces, tearing little by little wanting to rip their faces off.

- But you don't want to suffer so much pain, ¿Do you? ~ you were just trying to save some little children from a vile ghost, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Or was that just your excuse to slice your son open along with two other children?” the creature snarled, grabbing the skulls of the couple, squeezing them to such an extent that they began to weep blood.

The sound of their skulls crunching did not make her stop, the couple's attempts to whimper, however quietly did not stop her. She continued to press slowly but steadily until their heads were deformed by the claws pressing down on them. With eye sockets black from pooled blood and choked sounds coming from their useless lungs.

The creature moved closer to the pair showing its inhumanly sharp, black teeth opening wider and wider, looking as if it would rip their heads off at the same time with a single movement, but the creature stopped and began to tremble.

- How was I able to do this to you- It said with some sadness. It seemed confused for a moment, trembling more and more. Speaking again.

- How can I do just this to you? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha- The creature laughed as if it had lost its mind looking up searching for an answer.

It directed one of its claws to its head and another to its chest, again seeking calm in them as it continued to laugh.

Slowly he stopped shaking and laughing, back to a calm silence, but with a few nervous cores under his cloak. He looked at where the little ones were and when he saw that they were asleep his core warmed like the sun hits the skin on a refreshing morning.

She turned his determined gaze back to the pair, and sighed wearily. She was waiting and thinking about what he could do; searched for outlets and answers, even wondering if she should ask the children to find out what they thought about the people in front of him, but she didn't want to wake the little ones. Until she remembered something and started to laugh, this time more calmly.

- Hahahahaha you know what is the funniest thing about this? hahahahaha I just realized that I don't know how to speak the human language hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha it's been so long ago that I just forgot about it- She said covering his mouth trying to cover his teeth as a long time habit.

- You don't understand me- She said with a certain sadness in his voice, but with angry eyes.

Minutes passed, thinking about what he could do.

- For now I will only do what I want with your bodies, but your souls will remain trapped in this room living the torture you did to these little ones- She said extending his claws to play with the couple again.

The last thing the couple's shattered eyes could see were black claws heading for their eyes and digging into them.

-

When the walls and ceiling of the torture room was covered in red and unrecognizable chunks she turned around ready to cross the portal with eyes that showed no emotion whatsoever, but was shocked to realize that only a hole remained in a foul wall.

She thought for a moment and reached out her claws trying to open spacetime to return to the phantom zone, but realized she only seemed to be trying to grab onto something invisible.

Frowning she tried this time to open her domain, but it was at that moment that she fell to the ground exhausted. Confused she searched her memories for why she was like this, until she remembered what she had done in the infinite realms.

She tried to connect to her clone, but that only made her shiver from the effort and sit on the cold but clean floor of the room and try again and again, even if it was to the phantom zone, but nothing worked.

She decided to stop and rest for a few minutes, closing his eyes and feeling the cores he kept in his mantle. Until he opened his eyes and saw a very familiar note on the floor.

“Lady Gotham is the only one who can withstand your power currently, protect them.”

She crumpled the paper in his hands and sent waves of energy through the room from his pent up rage, causing the lights in it to give way and explode. She destroyed the note in his hands with a white flame illuminating the room and floated slowly towards the exit.

The entity was tired, but it had to move fast, before it caused some anomaly in this town.

It floated through the dark night sky with the children close to its core and felt some nostalgia as it noted that it seemed that this was its home or at least the old one.

- It seems that I must visit the heiress of my old friend's mantle- Thought the entity with some sadness remembering the way to her temporary home in this reality.

Chapter Text

The journey to his new home began quietly, with a fast but steady flight so as not to disturb the children. The minutes passed little by little until he felt that his initial speed was slowing down.

The refreshing breeze she felt from the speed of her flight ceased to feel comfortable and all she wanted to do was return to her domain with the little ones so she could rest for as many millennia as necessary.

She remembered... she couldn't go back... Did she want to go back...? A pain in her head stopped her thoughts and she looked up to continue on her way.

The path, being through the clouds, seemed to repeat itself; like a loop, she couldn't tell if they were going anywhere. Like when you emerge from the bottom of the sea without knowing when you will surface. Could she leave her post?

This time the pain made her close her eyes tightly in an attempt to ease the pain in her head, but when she opened them again she found herself in what she could only know was her domain.

A completely dark place with small lights so far away but warm somehow, tinkling faintly. It was like being in space, but nowhere near anything.

As the entity spun around, looking for an explanation for this, in front of her appeared her clone. Glad to at least be able to join him, she approached with some enthusiasm, not wondering how she had gotten there in the first place.

Then her mind began to understand and she slowed to a stop a few feet away.

Even though she was in front of her clone, her core couldn't feel him near her. She still felt disconnected.

- You're not my clone, are you,” she said, losing the hope she thought she had to return to the phantom zone to properly heal the children.

She extended one of her claws trying to reach herself, thinking that she had to return to reality, since this place was not her real domain. In her mind the worry began, it was dangerous that she was flying aimlessly with cores so badly injured with her.

Her claws collided with something that prevented her from moving any further. A transparent wall separated them and when she lifted and fixed her gaze more on herself she felt her core tremble with anxiety.

On the other side she saw herself emotionless, anchored in place between chains that held her wrists, encircling them to her neck. Behind her she noticed the growing green flames and felt her core calling out for help.

With eyes wide with terror, the entity retreats from the transparent wall so as not to be engulfed by the flames. He sees how little by little his mind asks him for something, but he only feels pain every time he tries to understand. She closes her eyes and presses her head waiting for something to change, time passes and she hears the flames burn more, terrified she still keeps her eyes closed, but she had to get out of there.

When she opens them again she finds herself floating in a sky no longer so nocturnal, trembling and with the previous pain now only throbbing in her head. He descends slowly noting his clear tiredness to rest.

As she floated on the grass she wondered how long it had been since she had felt so tired, so useless. She hadn't always been powerful, but she felt so low on energy that her vision was blurry, she moved from side to side trying to stay upright, but her attempt only made her collide with something she only thought it was a branch, or a tree?

She didn't know very well where she was, but she did know that there were no humans nearby, so, for the first time in many millennia she not only closed her eyes to rest, but she fell leaning her back against a tree, bringing the children as close as possible to her core and wearily began to sleep, so that a few minutes later a dazzling light illuminated the place.

-

The sunlight already warming the place, ascended announcing a new day. Hearing the birds singing and the water moving, felt a slight breeze on his cheek accompanied. He felt warm.

As much as he liked the cold somewhere in his memory, the time he spent together with that couple in that cold lab... Now he longed for the warmth and greater possible contact of a person.

But then he thought, “I'm not supposed to feel warm” he was confused and his anxiety was beginning to bloom. First he looked for the children who were with him in the lab.

Even with his eyes closed, in pitch darkness, he found the ice core he was familiar with in front of him and soon after the humming melody of the cores was joined by the small wind core of the little girl. The joyful humming of the cores together joined their slow but comforting heartbeats.

It all felt terrifyingly comforting until a sound, similar to his and the other two children's, silenced his core and stopped his heart from the surprise “Lub-dub....” That was not her heart. He hoped he misheard, hoping that heart belonged to one of the other children. Minutes passed listening to the children's hearts until “Lup-dub” sounded again. His eyes widened like saucers to find himself in a scene completely foreign to him.

In front of him was the boy identical to him, but with a relaxed expression. His eyes, despite looking exhausted in a completely wrecked body, his core still conveyed peace.

Then he looked down and saw the little girl curled up next to him with drool coming out of her mouth like a waterfall. Had the sound of water come from her? Her tired red eyes were again asking him to close again and sleep, but he had to find out where that throbbing was coming from....

“Lup-dub”

Chapter Text

Time passed and the creature noticed that the temperature was dropping, the sounds of insects were multiplying, accompanied from time to time by a cold breeze that moved the grass around it.

With difficulty I opened my eyes, not wanting to move from their place. It had been a long time since I had slept and I wanted to stay that way. She puckered her eyes closed thinking about how she should get up, shifted a little to settle herself and felt some back pain from sleeping sitting on the ground leaning against a tree.

“Ugggg... Is this how one ends up after sleeping? Or is it because of the time I went without sleep?"- She thought as she settled her back on the tree.

It was at that moment that he felt something move in his arms. First she felt fear and opened her eyes like saucers, her gaze met the horizon, the day was gone and the night was in full swing. Her fear dissipated and she felt nostalgic for the situation she was in.

- When was the last time I really saw the stars for real?- The night before they only had in mind to reach their destination and did not notice their surroundings.

Fireflies flew near where they were and illuminated their surroundings, the breeze moved her hair and she felt calm, but something still didn't add up, she could hear many things from where she was and even though she knew she wasn't alone she felt anxious. “Wait! I'm not alone!”

Slowly she lowered her gaze and it was there that she found little blue eyes in the middle of two still sleeping children.

They stared at each other waiting for a reaction, but all she noticed was the buzz of curiosity coming from her core.

The little girl continued to lean against his chest with her clenched fists covering the bottom of her little face. “SHE'S SO CUTE!!!” Thought the creature in his mind feeling his core struggle to make his love for this little girl clear.

Just as she was about to say something the child next to her began to fidget with difficulty on her right arm causing the girl's gaze to shift to him. And as he felt the child's frightened core curled up in his left arm he turned his gaze towards him, finding an awake child with eyes like saucers looking at them.

She realized the children were awake the moment she felt three pairs of eyes looking at her.

She went one by one, seeing the little children's eyes looking at her and wanted to say something, but in the children's eyes she could sense fear.

She felt the urge to go back to that damned lab and set the whole place on fire, but she felt the need to reassure the children first and that idea dissipated from her mind. She reassured them the only way she knew how.

-

Meanwhile at the Watchtower...

A calm and intimidating voice could be heard inside the room full of superheroes.

- So, that concludes the meeting. Any questions about the mission,” asked Batman standing in front of everyone, ending his explanation about the intervention of some of the members of the league for an incursion to stop a possible dispute between aliens and the earth, this being only a suspicion of the Martian detective.

All the members kept silent, this being an affirmation for Batman. When everyone was about to get up to go to the mission or to their homes a golden portal appeared in the room.

Batman only turned his neck to show a look of disapproval to the person who knew who that portal belonged to; while the other members in the room only sat down to wait for a possible intervention of someone not very respectable.

What they didn't expect was that not only did the wizard appear, but Zatanna appeared holding him like an alcoholic. Besides, they both looked like they had run away from a battle, they were disheveled with a clear tiredness in their eyes. Then Zatanna raised her head towards Batman and with terrified eyes.

- We need help...- She said in a tired voice.

Everyone in the room seemed to freeze as the portal closed with some voices coming from it fighting and arguing about what they didn't know yet.

That's when the heroes reacted and went to the two exhausted wizards, while Batman asked for water and other things for them.

Moments later when they seemed to be better, with Constantine already conscious, Zatanna spoke again lowering the glass of water from her mouth.

- Let's say, we have a problem with something that is beyond our knowledge and it is very powerful,- She said slowly raising her head to look at all the members of the room.

It was at that moment that Constantine finally looked up, quickly and uncontrollably looking at Zatanna with puzzled eyes.

- VERY POWERFUL?!?!?!?! IT IS REALITY THAT IS OUR REALITY!!!!!- Replied the magician to Zatanna with eyes clearly angry with fatigue.

Zatanna looked at him with the same tiredness but his words made her boil with anger and she looked like she was about to fight.

Then a black figure intervened between the two, Batman's eyes showed no emotion whatsoever, more than a clear analysis of the still unexplained situation. He turned his gaze to the wizard and spoke.

- Calm down Constantine, and let the most sensible person at the moment explain first,” he said, sharpening his gaze. He waited for Contantine to seem to understand what situation he was in and turned to look at Zatanna.

- Speak.

Zatanna sighed mentally thanking Batman for controlling her partner. putting her back steady and keeping her eyes straight ahead she began to explain.

- A day ago we received warnings about a disturbance in our world. We were getting powerful signals from someone or something, we were about to investigate more about the signal when it disappeared. When we didn´t find the signal, we were about to investigate further when it disappeared. Then when we found nothing in the records about this kind of power we decided to gather the Dark League to find someone who knew, but we only managed to fight among us because of certain disagreements... literally...- She looked down wearily and sighed as he remembered what happened during their meeting.

- That explains why you're so tired, but why ask us...- Constantine raised his hand to shut Wonder Woman up and raising his head with more relaxed eyes this time... he explained.

- What happens is that today we received again that same signal... This time stronger, but different in some way. Being all the dark league gathered together we expected to know more about it, but the only thing we could decipher is that it is more powerful than we expected and that it is not of this world... It is not only affecting planet earth, but reality itself. Our universe is in danger if we don't figure out how to stop this kind of emission in our reality.

The room seemed to sink into an increasing silence and anxiety, some looked at each other not knowing how to act on this new information others only seemed to think about what to do, but a throat clearing made them look towards one man.

With a reassuring smile and a hand on each shoulder, Superman tried to reassure them.

- For now let's try to think objectively guys. We've faced a lot of things, I think we can get out of this if we get organized first, don't you guys?- Everyone in the room seemed to calm down with Superman's words and went back to their respective seats hoping that Batman had planned something during the out of control that Superman calmed down.

Batman then rose from his seat directing his gaze to the wizards seated at the table.

- All right, first to inform you, we had a mission set before you arrived. This one will become secondary, but it must still be attended to. So those who had nothing to do will go as support for the secondary mission while the names I say will have to accompany us to find out more about this being or thing.

Everyone in the room seemed to agree as they received no response. After a glance at all the members, Batman began to name.

- Flash, Captain Marvel, Cyborg and Superman, you will go with me and the wizards. The others, I leave the command to Wonder Woman and Detective Martian. In case something happens that affects the earth and you can't handle it, get in touch immediately. In the event that we need reinforcements seek help from all the sub-teams of the league. That's all for now, now leave before it gets late.

All those who were not named stood up confirming Batman's command and made their way to the ship that would take them to Mars. Wonder Woman approached with the Martian Detective to Batman and the team that remained on Earth.

- I hope all goes well, thank you very much for leaving it in our hands- She said as the Martian Manhunter nodded his thanks.

Once they left Batman turned to follow the new plan.

- All right, we don't know anything about this being other than it's very powerful- He said stopping as Zatanna stamped a hand on Constantine's mouth to prevent him from rectifying the creature or thing's power.

- Then we have two locations where these signals appeared, do we know if they are from two creatures or are they from the same one?- He asked watching as the mages looked at each other and then turned their gaze back again only to shake their heads.

- Then we will separate into two groups. Flash and Superman will go with Zatanna to the first issue, while Cyborg, Captain Marvel and Constantine will go to the last issue. Maybe you might know what this is all about- He said turning to Captain Marvel.

The Captain just smiled with some anxiety as he thought about what he could expect from this situation in which he feels the voices in his head getting more panicked since yesterday.

- Do you know where we are going?- He asked the wizards to know if they were really informed.

The wizards affirmed at the same time and each turned to their established team, looked each other in the eye silently wishing each other luck and both reported their two destinations.

- Illinois, Amity Park.

- West Virginia, East Fork State Park.

Two portals opened, one gold and one white. The superheroes would stay in touch as always and knowing that, they glared goodbye as they entered the portals.

Chapter Text

As everyone in the realms knows (or should remember), ghosts are originally created by ectoplasm and emotions, with the accumulation of all of this being their core.

Ghosts show their affection with fights and riots to mark territory and show respect for each other, but when it comes to damaged cores or young ghosts; that changes things a lot for some ghosts.

In this case, the entity upon seeing the little alphas, damaged and frightened, decided to set aside his mentor's warning and let a little of himself out into this world.

It closed its eyes and searched its being. Its core.

-

Danny didn't know what was going on.

One moment he was on a cold table about to be released from his suffering at the hands of two people and now he was in the arms of a person he had never seen before.

His mind kept thinking that something was not right.

Beside him were the children who always accompanied him, but even knowing that he was accompanied did not relax him from the situation he was in.

He could only watch as the person he had never seen before closed his eyes. He expected something to happen, an attack, a scream of rage, a punishment, but it never came.

Instead he felt a sense of calm wash over the place. He heard the clear hum of a powerful core that wanted to reassure them.

His nerves dissipated and he let himself collapse into the person holding them. He felt the core convey more feelings.

“Love” ‘Safe’ ‘Protect’ ‘Fearless’ ”Love.”

Danny couldn't believe it, those feelings were coming from this person. She didn't want to hurt them, she didn't want to study them. She wanted to protect them.

His eyes began to water as he looked at the children and saw looks of disbelief just like his own. They couldn't believe this was happening. Cores never lie. This had to be a very cruel dream.

He felt the person's arms press and hold them tighter, pulled them closer to her and hugged us with more affection than they had ever felt in these 5 years, or their entire lives.

Then they felt their core again.

“Don't be scared” ”Protect.”

They felt their bodies float as they did in some experiments, but this time, they floated along with the person they had with them. They could see how they came out of a forest of thinner trees compared to the one they were originally in and came to a completely dark place.

It was hard to tell where they were if it wasn't for the sound of water moving beneath them. The sounds of the insects had stopped and the wind became warm.

The person stopped looking up and we waited. Slowly, lights began to surround them and reminded them of the ones in that place, pointing at them to study them. They felt something tremble beside them.

As he turned around he realized that he was huddled next to the other children who were trembling just like him. Then the person spoke.

- It's okay,” -She said in a calm and loving voice, in a language he had heard elsewhere.

The person arranged them on his legs and arms in a position similar to that of the tree, but with more freedom.

With the constant impulse of the reassuring core, Danny felt how the red-eyed boy stopped shaking and moved to see where he was. Then it was the little girl.
Only he was left, but Danny was afraid to open his eyes and wake up.

He felt a hand place itself on his head and caress it.

With that simple movement, his previous fears and thoughts ceased. He opened his eyes slowly and noticed that the red-eyed boy had held his hand as he looked straight ahead with enlightened eyes.

His eyes went to the same place as the boy, finding himself surrounded by the one thing he had not been able to see all these years looking up at a cold white ceiling.

Stars.

A whole starry sky, with its constellations, comets, shooting stars, satellites and galaxies. It was incredible how easy it was to see them, so close, so close together.It seemed unbelievable.

He felt tears coming out of his eyes, but this time they were not of fear, nor despair. They were of relief, happiness and above all hope.

-

The entity saw the children begin to cry seeing the sky up close and panicked. Did she do something wrong? The children don't like it?

Her core as well as herself panicked and wondered if they were okay. If they needed anything.

But all she got from the children was a tight hug with sobs that were slowly getting louder in the silence they were in.

Time passed and the children seemed to calm down. The two twins were still with joined hands sitting on the entity's lap, while the little girl was resting happily on his chest.

The entity had managed to make the little ones comfortable enough to have her back and her mind was overflowing with happiness. Just as the little blue-eyed boy was about to speak, a strange energy alerted him to the presence of humans.

Her nerves became clear as she noticed that the children tensed up with her, so she pulled the children closer to her and her first thought was to run away, but something in the energy of those humans felt familiar and she wanted to know what it was.

She emitted with her core tranquility and protection to reassure the little ones, but seeing that they didn't seem to calm down, she decided to transform herself to make them feel safer. His limbs were replaced with black clouds and some white ones with completely white eyes.

Hiding the children stunned by his change in his cloud cloak, she slowly descended and saw four humans.

A blond man, guilty of the portal and with a foul soul to which several demons belonged. The entity could only feel disgust at the sight of his soul.

Next to him was a soul composed of metal and sadness that had been with him for some time.

In front of the two stood a man dressed in black, with a vampire theme?

This one did not emit any kind of power from his soul, but one could see that it was tainted with death. And behind these three was....

The entity was stunned, with startled eyes as she descended more calmly towards the new champion this time.

-

Batman stepped on the grass, but realized that he didn't make any noise. He could feel the wind around him, but he didn't move the cape. It was as if reality was failing him.
Then he turned to see more of where they were, but beyond ten feet of his sight, everything went black, resembling a horror video game.

- Constantine, Marvel, Cyborg, can you see or feel anything,- He asked hoping that his voice would not be muffled like the other sounds, but he received no answer.

He turned around, to find a completely white wizard in a state of shock, a very stressed Captain Marvel starting to shake and Cyborg looking around for something somewhere. Something was very wrong.

That's when he heard something out of all the silence that surrounded them.

- Jebediah.

Batman felt his ears pop, his mind was spinning and his body was not reacting to any stimulus he sent it to move. This creature was dangerous. He hoped that taking Captain Marvel with him would be enough to contain this creature, but even the captain didn't seem to know what to do.

Batman feared he had been mistaken.

Captain Marvel knelt, looking first to the earth and then to the stars, always keeping his fists on the ground. He looked like he knew what he was doing, but what Batman didn't know was that the champion's mind was a mess.

The champion, in fear fixed his gaze on a point, where Batman thanks to his will (according to him) was able to turn and notice two white lights, which he assumed must be the creature's eyes, which were slowly sharpening.

- I offer you my sincerest apologies, my goddess... - Captain Marvel said trembling, but a black claw stopped his speech.

- “Γεια σας, στον τελευταίο επιλεγμένο πρωταθλητή. Χαίρομαι που γνωρίζω ότι παραμένεις ακόμα σε κάποιες πραγματικότητες, αλλά λυπάμαι που μαθαίνω περισσσότερα για την παραμονή μου σε αυτόν τον κόσμο."(1)- Said the creature.

Both Batman and the wizards reacted with a shudder, even its speech commanded colossal power.

- What would make you leave your home to come to this world?- Asked Captain Marvel without thinking looking at the ground.

The surroundings cooled, the wind had disappeared and in case they thought it was dark before, this time it was as if the shadows themselves wanted to eat them.

- “δύο άνθρωποι από αυτόν τον κόσμο έχουν καταφέρει να εξοργίσουν περισσσότερα από ένα βασίλεια ανάμεσα στα άπειρα βασίλεια.” (2)- Responded the creature angrily, but quickly hid it.

The entity disappeared and the heroes noticed their surroundings reappearing again. The grass had color again and small fireflies illuminated certain parts of the place.

The sky was gradually clearing and with a golden sky from the rising sun, they could see the eyes of the entity from before, surrounded by black and gray clouds. Its eyes despite being completely white were just as expressive as Batman's mask.

The entity seemed to think and turned its gaze to Constantine. Who upon realizing what was happening jumped out of fright and straightened up.

- “Μπορείς να με καταλάβεις, έτσι δεν είναι; Αφήστε με να μάθω ξανά τις γλώσσσες σας.” (3)- Said the entity approaching the wizard.

- Cla....sure sure sure, pu...pu...pu...I can understand you, I met, I met people or rather aaaammmm...- Constantine decided to stop his speech due to the difficulty he is having to speak.

Having the entity in front of him, Constantine could only let her do whatever she wanted while looking into her eyes. He felt the entity's claws surrounding him, with the sensation of a suffocating prison. He felt his mind being invaded, as if cold water was running through his head making him shiver, but leaving a refreshing sensation.

The claws retreated back towards the cloud entity and distanced itself from Constantine to be in a close, but safe place, both for her, and for them. Then the entity spoke again, this time clearly to the others.

- Thank you very much, in exchange for this favor, I decided to soothe the pain of your soul, but this does not change what you did to her to get her in that state,- The entity spoke, this time in a language clear to the four of them. She turned and stared at the other three heroes.

She seemed to squint her eyes thinking about what she had to do and when it looked like she was about to leave. Batman spoke.

- Why did you come to our world?- He asked sharply without knowing who he was addressing, while the two wizards behind him only want to strangle him for stopping the entity's escape.

White eyes reached those of the masked man. He felt the warmth of the atmosphere cool down, but this time everything seemed to remain normal. The entity approached the man and reduced his form to be at the same height as his eyes, with a furious look he said.

-I am in this reality because no one was doing anything for my king and I got tired of being blind to his torture. For the time being I will stay in this world to take care of him and to know that he is safe,- She turned around ready to leave, but stopped to say.

- Once I finish my work I will leave and this plane of reality will remain completely the same as when I came. As much as I would like to destroy this reality, it is a decision that is not in my hands,- The entity explained seriously before disappearing from their sight.

The four heroes felt a chill and after a few minutes they felt the sky and their surroundings become normal. Batman turned to see Cyborg frozen in place as if taking in what had happened and the mages slumped on the ground, relieved and nervous as if they had been through the most intense fight of their lives.

The mages lifted their heads to look at each other and have a mental fight between the two to know that they were really thinking of the same entity, then angrily turned their gazes to Batman.

They were about to mention the terrible mistake Batman had made when they heard Zatanna's trembling voice over the communicator.

- A...Zatanna here...you'd better come and see what we found.

A white portal opened in front of the three heroes calling out to them.

- After this, I need an explanation,- Batman said with some anger and worry on his mind. As he made his way to the portal.

Chapter Text

Past the doorway they found a laboratory, or at least what could be said to be left of it. Tables, utensils and a green substance were piled up in every corner of the room leaving the center completely clear. 

Thanks to Zatanna's powers they could see the place, which had all the light bulbs broken with one of the bulbs still flickering somehow.

When they arrived and the portal closed behind them, they saw how Flash was paralyzed next to Zatanna who turned to look at them with a terrified expression. On the other side of her was Superman, who seemed to be in pain holding his nose.

Just as Zatanna approached to inform the newly arrived heroes a putrid smell hit them. It was like stepping into an abandoned slaughterhouse where everything is rotting.

They could feel their ears ringing as if under water, they could see Zatanna, but they didn't understand what she was saying, gradually the ringing was replaced by a painful ringing in their ears... and from that ringing some screams became clear.

Constantine advanced with heavy feet and struggling to reach everyone in the room. With each person he touched a golden mark was generated in the place where he touched being the last one. 

Everyone in the room seemed to notice the situation and began to approach the wizard.

- What was that- Cyborg asked in disbelief that his systems had failed so badly today.

Everyone seemed exhausted just staying in the room, no one seemed to want to say anything until the exhausted voice of the wizard spoke.

Batman headed for the walls of the room ignoring the magician's delirium. He increasingly sensed the smell of death vignetted from the wall, he wondered what it was as he reached out a hand to touch it, but a red hand stopped it. She turned around to find Flash with wide eyes staring into nothingness.

- You don't want to touch that Batman- She said in a frightened, but somehow out of place voice. The hero seemed to be beside himself, not wanting to be in the room.

He decided to heed Flash and not touch the look, but with the dim lighting and the smell he was in, the intrigue only grew.

- Zatanna. What are we supposed to be here for,- Batman asked while still staring at the wall without noticing the bad smell it was giving off.

- The place is cursed, it could be the most cursed place on earth. Superman confirmed that what's on the wall are body parts and you wonder why I called you,- replied Zatanna with a certain contempt in her speech.

Everyone seemed exhausted just staying in the room, no one seemed to want to say anything until the exhausted voice of the wizard spoke.
Batman turned to Superman to see him nod still holding his nose and turned his gaze to Flash standing next to him. His gaze showed terror and horror at what may have happened in the room.

Then he turned and addressed Captain Marvel whose shoulders were shaking and asked.

- So... who is it?- He asked with venom as he trusted the words of the entity he had seen before.

Captain Marvel only looked up at Constantine and said.

- She is the Justice.

Everyone remained silent as he assimilated the answer.

- And what is that supposed to mean,” asked Flash, completely bewildered, coming back to reality, while Constantine snorted in exhaustion.

- You really need to know more about Greek mythology Flash. It's true that you are the Justice League, but she... is the Goddess of Justice, Themis,- Said Constantine as he watched everyone realize that they were dealing with a goddess.

As the group of heroes took in what had happened so far, a cloud seemed to descend on the roof of an abandoned warehouse in dark Gotham.

                                                            -

The entity when she reached the area where she was supposed to stay taking care of the king and the princes felt an uncomfortable pressure around her. Seeing that she did not stop wherever she went, she ended up in a place far from the humans and left the children on the ground while she turned around to face the curse that was watching them.

- You must be the heiress of Haarlo-heim, I come in search of refuge for the king and his family,- She said hoping that the curse of Gotham would become more visible in the darkness.

Then he advanced and the entity felt some fear when he saw the appearance of Lady Gotham. 

Lay Gotham wore a black suit that seemed to be part of the darkness itself, her dark gray skin accentuated her white eyes similar to those of the entity and her black hair covered part of what the entity was afraid of.

Around Lady Gotham the thin chains she kept around her became clear, holding her arms tightly to the darkness and almost reminding the entity of its past vision.

- You must be the one Clockwork told me about, I'm glad to hear that the little king and his family are in good hands,- Said Lady Gotham with some relief.

- Did he talk to you, did he tell you how to return to the kingdoms,- The entity replied incredulously, knowing something about his master.

Lady Gotham did not answer her question but continued speaking, looking at the children.

- I hope my guards do not cause any commotion, nor my rogues cause more damage than usual- She said with a bow to the little ones.

- I wish them well.- She said being devoured by the darkness that seemed to claim.

The entity was stunned while still looking at the area where Lady Gotham disappears, then looked at the children who seemed somewhat frightened and approached them.

This time she couldn't do whatever she wanted, they were royalty and she had to behave with respect.

The entity knelt down and showed her respects to her king and princes with clear devotion.

- My King, prince and princess. My name is Temis, goddess of justice and guardian of realities. I came against the king's orders to put you out of your suffering. I will await my punishment with pride and protect you until you no longer require my service,- Said Temis with her head bowed, unaware that the children in front of her were trembling and looking at each other without knowing what to do about the situation.

Chapter Text

Danny didn't know what was happening.

It seemed like a dream.

First he was on a cold table about to die altogether, then he was in space untethered and now in front of a black and white cloud that was going to take care of him and the other children.

She addressed them as king, prince and princess. That means they are family. They were siblings? That means she has to protect them? Family is important, isn't it? The couple said they had a family, but that was bad. Something in him said that family was bad, but this one was different?

As he thought and trembled he felt small hands in front of him, covering not only him, but the little girl he was holding in his arms as well.

- Who sent you,- Asked the red-eyed child, trembling, but with decision in his words.

- I myself decided to come to this plane of existence against the rules, I'm sorry I don't have as much power as I would like, but this way it's safer for everyone,- Decided the cloud.

- What did you do with the Fentons,- Asked the red-eyed boy again. Danny didn't know who he was talking about.

- If you mean the couple I found when I arrived. Considering their bodies, they are dead. But I have locked their souls in that room... Shouldn't I have done that,- Asked the cloud, somewhat doubtful of his actions.

Danny didn't know what to feel the moment he found out about the couple... Was he happy? Was he happy, should he be happy? A part of him felt hurt to know about the people that he knew about.

Then he felt tears run down his malnourished cheeks. He felt his broken core emanating emotions just as undecided as he was.

"sad" "safe" "angry" "afraid" "relieved"

The red-eyed child turned and looked at him with disbelieving eyes. Danny couldn't help but hug the little girl in his arms tighter.

The moment his emotions became clear, the cloud turned his white eyes towards them, which slowly grew bigger understanding something they didn't know and he looked down with some fear in his words.

- I am very sorry for having acted emotionally. I should have thought about my actions before. Don't be sad for them, they don't deserve your sadness,- Said the cloud lowering his head again and with a slight anger in his final words.

Danny felt something in his hand, the red eyed boy's hand was holding him and he looked up. He saw the little red eyes looking at him...

At first he was confused by his actions, but after a while his gaze felt suffocating. His gaze was not like theirs. It couldn't be like that couple's. She said they were dead. Are they safe? Danny was hyperventilating. 

- Hey, hey, hey, hey, breathe with me, okay? Inside- He breathed in sharply.

- Out- He exhaled sharply and repeated the action several times. Danny adjusted his breathing easily (he doesn't need to breathe, but he had to) and he leaned against the red-eyed boy this time calmer closing his eyes.

When he opened them again he saw the cloud with a worried expression about to go to where they were, but it did not move from its place. It looked down again, showing respect and spoke again.

- I'm sorry I can't be of much help with the human thing. I have not been human for a long time and I prefer to stay in this body. But if you feel safer in my human form, I can change and learn,- Said the cloud, forming a light around her waist, splitting into two lights, one going down and the other going up around her waist.

In front of them stood a tall woman with wavy light brown hair.

- You're just like us,-Said the red-eyed boy in awe, squeezing Danny's hand lightly.

- Not quite my prince. It's true that they call me an Alpha for having a human and ghostly body, but I didn't need to be born with a human body to have one. Nor did I have to generate this body as they did with you, my prince,- He answered without knowing that his words seemed to have hurt the red-eyed boy.

- This body was imposed on me a long time ago seeking to know what human life is like. Most of my non-life I did not have to use it, but now I think it will be of more use,- Answered the woman looking at the children and waiting for an order. 

Her golden eyes seemed to shine like the sun at dusk not wanting to go out. She wore a white and sky blue Greek robe that made her hair look golden. Danny was shocked by her actions until the red-eyed boy broke the silence between the four of them.

- The first thing is to contact Clock, he'll know what to do,- He said more determined.

- I'm afraid he won't be much help. That cursed man doesn't even want me to come back to the kingdoms, let alone talk to me.- Said the woman with anger in her words.

- Maybe not to you, but he owes me a lot for what happened when he let me out of that thermos...or else we always have the king. It's impossible for him to avoid ... - The red-eyed boy thought more about what he was going to say and looked at Danny.

                                                                -

Dan thought.

"I've been suffering for 5 years at the hands of my parents along with these two and that watch only sent me when it all started. He didn't even send her, he came because he wanted to. That's something planning. Something can change the future."

Dan's hands began to shake with anger and he looked at the woman.

- What did you say your name was woman,- He said with blunt contempt.

The woman raised her head and slowly straightened up as she introduced herself.

- My name is Themis, my prince,- The woman said proudly.

- First of all, stop calling me prince. I am...- He stopped and took a better look at himself. 

He no longer had his ghostly body. His body age had visibly decreased and what he liked the least...was knowing that he had a physical body again. Every scar he kept was not only because of the experiments, he himself was an experiment. This body shouldn't even be alive, but they made it.

- Just don't call me prince,- He said tiredly to the woman and looked at the children who were with him.

- All right Danny, now what do we do,-He said, waiting for a joking answer. A mockery, or something to lighten the atmosphere, but Danny kept silent.

- Danny? asked the boy confused. 

- Yes!- answered the little boy as if he was waiting for an order.

Dan looked at him a little bit confused and decided to ask, in order to be calmer.

- I want you to tell me, ¿who am I?,- He said holding the boy by his shoulders.

Danny kept still, he didn't answer at first, but when he saw that he wouldn't have any punishment, he started to sharpen his eyes and to think.

- You are the boy who accompanied me to the rooms,- Said Danny hoping that that was enough.

- No, no, before the experiments,- Dan waited patiently and calmly.

- There was a before,- Danny said incredulously. 

Dan was lost and panicked.

Danny didn't remember. Did Danny remember anything?

He turned his gaze to the girl.

- What about her, Danny? They were almost father and daughter! You can't have forgotten her,- Dan said, but he received only disbelief and sadness from Danny.

Then anger got the better of him and he turned away from Danny so as not to hurt him. He started pacing around the rooftop waiting for something, anything. He was already tired of being in this realm, much more of being human.

Right there he remembered that it wasn't just the three of them. They were in company. He directed his gaze to the woman standing there looking at him in confusion, but as they looked at each other she only straightened up more.

- Do you know how to get back,- He asked frustrated.

- The only peaceful way is to wait for a natural portal to appear, but there are open portals that have suffered contact with this reality or we could look for a wizard who can open a passage for us,- Said Themis thinking about which would be better.

Dan began to plan.

First he had to get to safety and above all know where he was. Then he had to make sure Danny hadn't forgotten everything and then....

He felt his legs give out and he started to fall. Her mind started to go black and the last thing she saw was the floor of the terrace.

                                                                -

Themis didn't know how to act in front of the princes, much less how to act in front of humans, but she did know one thing. 

She had to protect the children.

When she saw the prince fall she decided to move, even though she had no clear order, she grabbed the little prince and pulled him to her wondering what was wrong with him.

Was it the core's fault? does he need more ectoplasm? what do humans need?!

Themis panicked, she didn't know what to do. She looked down expecting to find a battered or suffering prince, but was surprised to see that the little prince was just calm in her arms (He's just sleeping)

She felt her limbs lose what strength she had, as she felt relief sweep through her. She turned her gaze towards the little princess and the king to find out what to do, but only found a little boy hugging the princess in his arms scared and wanting to go to where she was to find out about the prince's situation.

Themis got up carefully caressing the child in her arms and approaching her king. She looked at the blue-eyed boy for a moment waiting for a command, but receiving none; only fear from her king, she decided to crouch down so she could be closer to him and speak.

- Want to snuggle up with the prince and sleep for a while?- Themis asked with some fear, but after seeing the king look at the princess and confirm that she had fallen asleep, she moved. 

The king went to the place where she was, and when she felt the king's cold hand in her arms, she decided to cuddle the little king and the princess like that night in the tree.

When she had the three of them together in her arms she thought about where she should stay so that the children would be more comfortable when they woke up. He felt how little by little the melody of three sleeping cores could be heard and at ease.

She thought about becoming a cloud to cover them or have them on her mantle, but so far that seemed to have gotten her into trouble and now she wasn't up for trouble.

She went through the roof of the warehouse where they were and saw a sheet full of dust covering some worn wooden crates.

With a not too stiff breeze she blew the dust off, shaking it off and hoping that would be enough. She walked over to an area she thought was clean and pulled the sheet over herself hoping her human body could warm even just a little bit the cold prince, princess and king.

She closed her eyes, hoping that the melody of the children's cores would be enough for her too to fall into a deep sleep like last time.

- Good night, children.

Chapter Text

Morning awoke Temis with the sun burning her pupils and feeling small breaths in her chest, indicating that the little princes were still asleep.

That made her happy, she was waking up before the tired prince. She cooed to them before they woke up, but they were still sleeping, demanding not to be woken up.

She decided that she would let them sleep while she inspected, so she got up very carefully leaving them on the floor, wrapped in the sheet.

As she looked at them she couldn't help but feel happiness and was about to let those emotions out of her core, but she took a deep breath and let go of her emotions.

She couldn't cause trouble in this world, let alone let his power go anywhere.

Although he felt he had little power, the little he had was enough to influence this reality and he vowed not to cause any more harm. Enough he had done the first time the little ones woke up.

Then she looked at her surroundings and then at herself. It had been a while since she had seen her human form and she was curious.

Was she scary? What form did she have? Did not eating influence her human form?

The first thing she noticed were her legs, it was strange to have legs again. Then she saw his arms, and was curious about his claws, could he still use them?

Just she heard and felt someone's presence.

The warehouse door closed and the sound traveled throughout the warehouse announcing his arrival.

In her mind the children came first and she turned her gaze to them. The only one awake seemed to be the little one between the sheets who gurgled in her direction calling out to her. She glanced towards the uninvited one and decided to approach him to learn more of his arrival.

- You better show up or I'll put a bullet up your ass,- Said the man in a serious manner holding a gun.

Themis was puzzled by the aggressiveness with which the man spoke so casually.

It was then as she was about to come out of her hiding place that she saw the child who had been asleep behind her next to the man on his feet.

The man upon noticing the child jumped up with a scream and backed away while still looking at him.

As Themis looked back at the sheet the child was supposed to be on, anxiety set in as he looked at the man and saw that his gun was aimed at the child.

- What are you supposed to be doing here, boy,- Said the man, angry at the fright the boy had given him.

- Sir, are you all right.- The blue-eyed boy asked as he looked over the gun to see the man.

-

The blue-eyed boy had asked him a very foolish question and did not seem to realize the situation he was in.

She was wearing clothes that didn't look like his own, all tattered, stained and well-worn, as well as being stained with green paint

He thought better of what he had to do and after looking around he decided to go down and put the gun back in its place.

- Kid, this better be a joke and go back home, this place is not the safest place to be.- He said thinking about how he had not noticed that a child was on his lap when he entered the warehouse.

He reached one of his hands out to the child to drag him out of the warehouse, but something interrupted his actions.

He felt a hand holding his wrist that gradually held him tighter and he felt someone talking in his ear.

- Don't even think of touching his hair.- Said an angry voice of a woman being clouded by a white cloth.

When he wanted to realize, in front of him there was not only a child, but a woman was in front of him, protecting the child from the hand she had to grab him.

He looked into the woman's golden eyes and as he saw that her grip was getting stronger he spoke.

- There, there! Let go!.- He said in alarm, feeling his hand go numb.

Fortunately, after a while of talking to the woman, she let go of his hand and pushed him back with inhuman force.

She turned and looked at the blue-eyed boy looking for any injuries. The boy just stared at her until she spoke.

- It's okay, ma'am. I feel fine. Can you look at him.- Said the boy looking at the man to his left.

The lady, who now that she noticed was dressed in Greek attire, turned her head to look at him and after a while turned her head back to the child. She looked at the little boy with distrustful eyes until the boy spoke again.

- He smells bad, something must be wrong with him.- Said the boy innocently.

The woman looked at him, searching for something in his chest. She slowly approached him and with one hand made him sit on the floor.

Being stunned he wondered how much force the woman was using, but then he realized that the woman had sat on the floor with him.

The boy approached the couple on the ground and with a glance at the woman, the boy positioned himself between the woman's legs leaning on the woman's sword and looking up at him.

- Well. First we'd better introduce ourselves. I'm Themis, a guardian and I'm in charge of 3 little ones.- She said with her lips about to form into a smile as she looked at the child in front of her.

- Sooooooo you are a nanny and one of your children came to the warehouse to play.- Said the man somewhat confused by the way the woman spoke.

The woman looked at them confused, but said nothing, so he began.

- Hey, I'm sorry I pointed the gun at one of your kids. I'm known for not messing with kids and women, but something in the back of my mind said I wasn't safe.- The man said with guilt in his speech.

- My name is Todd, Jason Todd. Nice to meet youn, I guess.- He said as he stretched out an arm so he could say hello and find out if the woman in front of him wasn't as frail as her image made her out to be.

The woman first looked at the hand in front of her and then looked him in the eyes. After the boy looked at her, she decided to intertwine their hands to greet each other, this time with less force in her hands.

When he stopped greeting her and put his hands back near his weapons he decided to ask.

- What does the boy mean by “I smell bad,”.- The boy asked the woman incredulously.

She looked down and doubted what to do, but the boy looked her in the eyes and insisted.

- Come on, ma'am, he's in bad shape. Doesn't he need our help,.- The woman seemed to soften as she listened to the child pleading.

The nanny stared at his chest until she sighed and lowered her head. As she raised her head again, she explained.

- The king is not wrong, you smell a curse in your core.- She said pointing to his chest.

- You died recently, didn't you?.- The nanny asked looking him in the eyes.

-

Themis looked at Jason spying traces of his curse. And that's what he did.

Her eyes changed color to a radioactive green and the moment she noticed the change Jason jumped up pointing his gun at her.

- Who are you working for, who sent you.- Jason said angrily, though Themis knew the poor man was scared.

- You'd better sit down and relax if you still want me to help you,- She said as she stretched out one of her arms and moved her hand down to use her power to make Jason sit up again.

She pulled him to her on the ground and pinned him down with the help of her claws protruding from Jason's small shadows.

- Calm down and breathe.she said hoping he would calm down, but it only seemed to get worse.

- HOW THE FUCK DO YOU WANT ME TO BE CALM WITH A CLAW COMING OUT OF MY SHADOW!.- He said angrily as he struggled sadly to get up.

He felt a hand pushing and when he looked down he met the eyes of his King.

- This way we only scare him, I just want you to help him like you did us,.- Said his little king as he turned from looking at her to Jason.

She sighed and looking at Jason she let her claws go back into the shadows.

The man who was struggling before seemed to stop and look at Danny in amazement.

- YOU! How do you make me obey you.- He said as his eyes flickered from radioactive green to blue.

Jason calmed down turning his eyes blue and looked at her.

- Do you work for the League?.- He said scared but serious.

- I don't know who the League is, but I only obey my king, prince and princess.- She said hoping that would be enough.

Jason looked confused, but when he saw that the little boy was smiling next to her, he relaxed and decided to listen.

Themis saw that Jason decided to sit quietly, so she decided to explain to him what was going to happen.

- I have been dead for a long time and the little boy I have between my legs went through a situation that killed him, so we know that death has come to you at some point,. He said looking at Danny to see if he had done well telling something traumatic.

But the boy didn't seem to know who he was talking about and remembering that his king didn't seem to remember part of his life in this kingdom.

- The little king asked me to help him and I can see why. Your core doesn't seem to be formed correctly by the rancid ectoplasm you fed on when you came back to life or even now.- She said slowly lifting his gaze until he was staring at his chest.

She lifted one of her fingers until it was at the same height as Jason's chest and said.

- The only thing I have to do is fix the shape of your core, the rest you will do.- She said hoping he would understand what she had to do.

She lowered her hand to make Jason feel more secure with it and looked at his face.

Jason is in huge confusion and his mind seemed to be somewhere else. His core kept releasing emotions of danger, happiness and fear. It was a complete mess of emotions in one person.

As she laughed a little at how Jason is completely in another world as she tried to figure out what he was talking about.

- That thing you say... I don't know what it will be, but does it mean that what makes me feel aggressive will go away?.- Said Jason thinking, puzzled and hopeful at the end.

So that he wouldn't notice the amused tone of my voice, I just nodded and waited for the man's reaction.

The first thing the man did upon learning that the Lazarus would change his emotions was pure joy, he went from asking questions to simply laughing at his situation.

- Hahahahahahaha then. I just have to let you do something to me to make my Lazarus anger go away? That's easy? hahahahahahaha- Jason laughed but was attentive to his surroundings.

She could tell he was tense from his posture, even though he was attentive, there was still relief and joy in his emotions.

- The first thing is for you to stop laughing and leave the waiting to heal you.- Said Themis waiting for Jason as he sat up properly and laughed.

- Now the lady will take the bad out of you. - Danny said as he looked at Themis to see if there was something he had said wrong.

She just looked at the boy and snapped indicating that she was right and that even though he had no memory he was not wrong about what Themis should do. About.

- What the little king says is correct, but in order to do it I need to remove the corrupted ectoplasm from your core, are you willing or rather, do you give me permission to touch your core?.- She said worried about Jason's reaction.

Jason looked confused at first, but when he saw the boy, he nodded.

-It's okay.- He said. I just have a few questions. What is the core supposed to be, what are you, will it hurt a lot?

Themis did not expect such questions, but answered in a way that Jason understood.

- The core is like the heart and mind of all ghosts. We are alphas. It shouldn't hurt, but it sure will feel weird.- He said holding up his fingers each time he answered a question.

Jason thought as he lay on the floor.

It was information that a mortal might have a hard time comprehending in one sitting, but still it had to be tried at the request of his king.

- That means we are equals. You just have to let the lady heal you. She healed me right away.- Danny said cheerfully into her legs.

Then Jason seemed to get serious and nodded.

- It's okay, I don't understand very well, but if you are going to heal me it can't be that bad, besides you said it wouldn't hurt. So if it doesn't work I always have plan B.- He said as he thought and folded his arms.

Themis thought he wouldn't know what to do but he had to do what the king said.

- Very well. Then I just have to...- One of the arms went into Jason's chest and when he saw it he wanted to move, but something prevented him from moving.

- Stay still or it will be harder for me to help you.- Themis said angrily as she looked intently at Jason's chest.

Themis managed to grab the corrupted ectoplasm from Jason's core, but it wouldn't come out.

He pulled and pulled, but the ectoplasm would not come out.

While Jason looked dazed and lost for the situation he was in.

Chapter Text

Themis carefully moved her somewhat worried king and threw Jason on the ground to better remove the ectoplasm from his body.

- This is going to cost more than I thought.- She said as she looked angrily at the man beneath her.

Themis pulled the ectoplasm from the core and felt the rancid ectoplasm coming out of her core, but the moment she felt it move Jason started screaming for no reason.

- YOU DON'T NEED TO SCREAM ANYMORE!!!.- Shouted Themis still struggling with the rancid ectoplasm.

She was just about to get it, when the warehouse door suddenly opened.

A man resembling Jason seemed confused by the situation and shouted from afar.

- Winged, are you okay!.-Still staring at the warehouse entrance, he watched as Jason raised his hand to form a thumbs up and then fell back to his side.

The man still watching the scene slowly closed the door and Themis felt the ectoplasm slip from his grip.

- O no no, you're going out.- Themis said feeling Jason hold back a scream.

She felt the ectoplasm let go of the core and she absorbed it before it could even think of leaving Jason's body or going to another part of his body.

It was dangerous if it wanted to get into one of the little ones' bodies.

She felt Jason drop his whole body into himself and pass out. Then Themis panicked and quickly gave him some of her clean ectoplasm to wake him up. But he didn't.

Danny approached her and grabbed his robe and asked.

- He is dead?.- He said astonished by what he had seen.

Themis didn't know what to say, she didn't know what to do either. He had done what had been done to him, but the little king was not happy.

- He's alive you fool, he's just resting.- Prince Dan's voice said from behind her.

Themis got up from the man and ran in the direction of her prince to find out how he was. His rest had not started out very normal to say the least.

As she looked at him and inspected him kneeling on the ground, the prince rejected her touch and looked angry.

- I'm fine, don't touch me. I'll leave you alone for a while and see what you do?!- Said the boy pointing to the man lying on the ground.

At first she was scared that she was not up to the princes, but she saw the little prince's red ears as he avoided looking at her and she relaxed.

- King Danny only asked me to help him, and the man on the ground agreed to be treated.- She said amused by the prince's reaction.

Leaving the little ones behind she went to the little princess who had fallen asleep on the sheet again, but had her eyebrows just as if she was angry.

Once with her secured to his chest, he returned to where his king and the prince.

She watched as the two looked at Jason for signs of awakening, but seeing none they turned their gaze to Themis.

She relaxed near the man and sat on the floor leaning against one of the thousand boxes in the storeroom.

She let the little ones come to her and they sat down on their own.

- Your name was Themis, wasn't it?- The prince asked, still looking at Jason on the floor.

- Yes, what should I call you?.- I asked curious to know the name of their king's brother.

- You can call me Dan, but don't introduce me as prince. I don't like that title.- He said, disgusted at being called prince.

- And how do you want me to introduce you then?- Themis asked.

- Just introduce me as Dan or the boy you take care of. Anyway, the clock will do what it wants, I don't think we have or should return to the kingdom if Clock still doesn't think it's necessary.- Said the boy tiredly as he leaned on her as if he were king.

Themis continued to sit on the floor enjoying the tranquility of the moment until she answered calmly.

- Cronos will do what he has to do. Sometimes we don't do what we want to do and that can bother us a lot, even ourselves.- She said as Dan looked at her.

Dan lowered his gaze and relaxed on Themis' leg as time passed.

On the other hand, he felt his hands moving by some little hands and going to the top of his king Danny's head.

- Can I call you Themis, too?- Danny asked with some fear.

Themis just smiled calmly and nodded.

When she saw the child smile and snuggle into her other leg she felt so much happiness. 

She used that moment to emanate ectoplasm and feed the little ones around her.

The windows reflected sunlight from outside and he enjoyed the rest until the man in front of him suddenly stood up.

He sat up and looked down at himself. He directed his hands to his torso and seeing that no part of his body was gone he looked up, finding Themis.

- Did you get it, is it gone?.- Asked Jason and seeing Themis nod his core began to emanate pure joy.

Jason held his head waiting for something that didn't come and noticing it he started laughing, but this time out of happiness.

- Hahahahahahahahaha THE VOICES HAVE GONE!.- He said euphorically on the floor until he calmed down and looked at Themis better.

Wiping a tear he decided to get a little closer to Themis and look at the children around him.

- I guess these are the other children, aren't they?.- He asked with joy at the results of the treatment.

- And I guess you're not a babysitter either, aren't you from around here.- He said asking and was about to answer until she felt Dan straighten up.

- What an original question, handsome. I guess your accent gave it away.- He said wryly and angrily to the man.

When the man saw him, he raised his hands in surrender to reassure the boy, but the boy only seemed to get angrier at Jason.

She saw Jason look Dan up and down as he had done earlier with Danny and he showed some concern in his eyes.

Themis just tried to pull Dan closer to her so she could better feed him ectoplasm, and with some frustration she agreed, but kept looking angrily at Jason.

She started by introducing him to Dan and moved on to the others who seemed to be resting.

- The one awake is Dan, the little princess I have with me is named Dani and the little king to my right is Danny.- Themis said, happy to have the children with her.

She turned her gaze to Jason and saw that his core, even though he was still young, was able to live a normal life. Then she thought.

- You...Do you think we attract too much attention?.- He asked knowing the expected answer.

- Let's just say that the children are not in such a bad state. It's normal to see them on the street, but you in that robe, YES. You DO attract a lot of attention, especially your golden eyes or even that child's red eyes. And let's just say that children with blue eyes and black hair are kind of eye-catching for some people. So that's a YES.- Jason said thoughtfully as he pointed out to each one what made them stand out.

Themis didn't want to draw attention, but the kids should grow up in a house at least.

"I don't want to live on a roof or in a warehouse for his entire stay in this realm". He stopped emanating ectoplasm from his core and breathed thinking about what he had to do.

Maybe if she sought out some mage or let her power overflow she would come back to him Shazam and ask for help.

- It could help you go unnoticed.- Jason said as he looked at her seriously.

Themis was stunned by the help she was receiving, she looked at Jason and felt his face show disbelief.

- I mean, you healed me. The least I can do is help you with this.- He said embarrassed and looking at the children.

Themis didn't know what to do, and being given this kind of help was the best thing to do right now.

He felt Dan stand up and point his finger at Jason.

- What do you want with Themis?.- He asked angrily towards Jason.

Jason just raised his arms as before and said.

- I don't want anything from her. I'm just grateful that she will take my voices away and I want to do something for her.- He answered seriously to the question.

Themis couldn't help but laugh at the situation and watched as Dan turned around in embarrassment and threw himself at her to hug her.

- I guess it's for the best. I don't think we have any other choice, do we Dan?.- She said as she stroked the top of Dan's head.

He felt Danny get up and realizing that Jason is awake he turned to him with many questions.

As the little girl woke up with a yawn and gradually Dan's face became more visible.

- It's all right. We'll get help from him.- Dan said, playing with the newly awakened girl.

As Themis smiled as she watched everyone's interactions, she decided to position and secure the princess well and get up from the floor.

She saw Jason realizing what he was doing also get up from the floor and waited.

- So. You tell me how we can avoid attracting attention.- Said Themis excited about her new life as a human.

Jason just looked at her and smiled as he listened to Themis.

- You leave everything to me.

 -

When they had left the store she knew that going to her safe house was not going to be very discreet. So they went into a store to look for clothes first.

As they entered he saw Themis and Danny impressed to see so many clothes together, but Dan was just pulling her to see what kind of clothes he could find.

- Take what you like, it's on me.- Jason said expecting amazement from the others, but when he didn't get an answer he realized he was alone.

He made his way to the changing rooms as he saw Dan with the little girl in his arms next to the changing table.

He was relieved to know they hadn't left and approached the child.

- Do you want me to watch her while you go get some clothes.- The boy only grunted and gripped the girl tighter.

Somehow when he was angry the boy could make his eyes glow and that threw him back.

- Calm down, I won't hold her.- He said frightened by the boy and began to wonder what beings they were.

As they waited outside, they saw Themis open the fitting room still wearing the tunic announcing Danny in his new outfit.

Danny had opted for a large black sweatshirt with radioactive green paint splatters on it and black, loose fitting pants with several pockets which was funny, but fit him well.

- Your taste in clothes hasn't changed one bit.- Laughed Dan as he looked at Danny in annoyance at his comment.

- Don't listen to him Danny, it looks great on you, shorty.- He said ruffling Danny's hair.

- Now you.- Said Dan looking at Themis.

She didn't seem very comfortable with the idea, but sighing she followed the red eyed boy looking for the right clothes according to him.

While Jason watched Danny who was looking at himself in the mirror next to the fitting room.

After a while, Dan arrived with Themis with some clothes to try on and made her go into the fitting room.

After a while she came out wearing tight jeans and a dark blue sweatshirt.

- Pretty normal, don't you think?.- She said knowing that Danny agreed with him.

- Our purpose is to go unnoticed, if it's normal for you it's fine.- Said Dan with a smirk on his face.

While Themis snatched the girl from Dan's hands and looked at him insistently.

- I'm coming, I'm coming.-  Dan snorted as he headed for the small clothing area.

Themis decided to sit on the bench near the fitting rooms as she watched Dan look at clothes.

She saw Danny approach Themis and whisper in her ear if he could do anything. She just smiled and nodded, watching the boy sit on Themis' lap to hug her.

She tenderly wrapped Danny around her and continued to look at Dan.

- So... They're not yours, are they?.- Jason asked puzzled but realized what he had said.

- I mean, it's not that I'm interested or anything, well yes, but not in you, I'm just curious, about the kids... .- Not feeling the voices made him lower his defenses a lot.

Talking to a woman had never been so difficult in his life or even with anyone.

He saw Themis laugh and while still looking at Dan he explained.

- I have children, but they are not them. These three little ones are my responsibility until they say they are. So I have to watch out that nothing bad happens to them.- She said with sadness for her children, but happiness at the mention of they.

 Just then Dan came over with some clothes to try on.

- I can hold Dani for you and take care of Danny while you help him.-  Jason said remembering how Themis had left Dan with the girl.

Themis hesitated, but let the girl go.

- Who said I need help!.- Dan replied angrily to Jason.

Themis looked at him and after a battle of looks in which Themis seemed to win they went to the fitting room.

When they came out, Dan was wearing dark blue jeans that fit him well and a sweatshirt in his size this time completely black.

- I can tell you picked out the clothes hahahahahahahaha.- Danny laughed as the little girl in Jason's arms seemed to giggle with him.

Dan after grumbling and getting petted on his head by Themis. He seemed to relax.

Themis walked over to him and asked.

- What do we do now?

Jason, seeing that they looked happy, did laugh.

- Now there's the most important clothes left. The baby clothes hahahahahaha.- He said as he lifted the little girl in the air and made her laugh.

Themis seemed a little scared of forgetting the little one's clothes, but seeing that she was laughing at Jason's movements she relaxed and grabbed her to put her in her arms.

- I am not forgetting you my little princess, we will choose something simple for you.- Said Themis to the little girl.

After looking at several outfits they tried something simple.

The girl seemed happy with a brown dungarees and a light brown shirt, so after paying, she took them to one of her safe houses that she had in that area.

The area was not the safest, but in Gotham it was normal for the place.

Upon arriving and giving permission to sit down. Dan had Themis sit on the couch with the child in her arms, while Jason enjoyed the children's attempts to get on the couch.

When they finally got upstairs, they lay on either side of Themis, just like in the warehouse and relaxed.

Jason knew that spending the night on the floor was better, but watching Themis almost fall asleep on the couch was kind of fun.

- So...- He started to wake Themis from her sleep.

She woke up slowly so as not to wake the children and said.

- I appreciate what you've done.- She said as she bowed her head in thanks.

Jason from the kitchen counter he had in the house speaks.

- No need to thank me, it's the least I could do to my savior.- He said quickly so Themis lifted her head.

Themis just straightened up and thought, looked around and looked at Jason.

- Could we stay here tonight.- She said scared of the answer she might get.

- Of course we can, only if you like it you can stay for a while or whatever you need. - Said Jason extending his arms referring to the apartment.

Themis blinked in confusion, she didn't seem to believe she could keep the apartment.

- Why are you doing this to someone you just met.- She asked surprised by his actions.

- Because you managed to take away something I thought I would have for life.- Jason said smiling.

Jason went to get a blanket leaving Themis pensive.

When he returned he saw Themis still awake holding the children somehow. He smiled at the sight of her and picked up the maroon blanket he had.

Seeing that Themis was looking at him calmly, he went over and placed a blanket on her legs, covering the children.

Then he disappeared looking for his other blue blanket and with the same gesture, he went over to place the other blanket over the child in Themis' arms, thus covering everyone.

Themis seemed to relax in the heat and exhaustion, but she was still alert.

He didn't know why yet, but I would know soon.

- You sleep, I'll patrol tonight. Tomorrow we'll have more time to tell me about it.- He said, leaning against the side of the couch.

He felt the couch move and heard a steady breathing.

After some time and making sure he was not overheard, he sent the message.

Hood: tonight I have plans, I am not operational.

Heavy: you really hit it off with that girl from the warehouse.

Jason didn't even get mad, but stifled a smile as he remembered how they were at the warehouse.

A very crazy night.

Chapter Text

One of the white portals appeared in the watchtower and out of it came the heroes who were in the laboratory.

Automatically one by one they sat down in bewilderment at the images they had found in the files they had stored.

Once they were all seated and Batman was about to speak, they received a call.

The beeping of the call on the computer screen puzzled them, but Superman was the one who floated up from the floor and pressed a button on the panel to initiate the call.

- Hello, thank goodness you're all right. We finally heard from you, how did it go, did you find anyone.- Wonder Woman said with concern for the team.

The seated heroes were slow to start talking and Superman seemed to be thinking about how to start the conversation.

- How did you and your team do.- Batman said to start a conversation.

- A, yes of course. Everything went well. We kept the peace with another new race and there is no possibility of any war. We have no casualties and we are about to return to base.- Said Wonder Woman, somewhat confused by the situation.

- I notice it didn't go well. The atmosphere is not as usual. Did something happen.- Wonder Woman asked worriedly.

- We found someone powerful and now they were going to inform us who it is.- Said Batman looking at Captain Marvel and Constantine as if they had removed his mask.

Constantine just sighed lowering his head and getting up from his seat to drink from his petanque.

While Captain Marvel just avoided eye contact with anyone with clear fear inside.

- Well, who are we dealing with.- Wonder Woman asked as she looked at the team through her communicator.

Batman looked at Constantine seeing that Captain Marvel wasn't going to talk, he frustrated, turning around and complaining said.

- Why don't you ask his little friend, Batman? There's already too much pressure in this place.- He said as he pointed to Captain Marvel to take that's a weight off his shoulders and with irony in his speech. 

Marvel looked at him with a hurt look in his eyes, but he put his fingers on the table and began with the help of the voices in his head that had explained to him what he had to do.

- She is...- He began, frightened by what he had to do, and with a throat-clearing breath he began again.

- The cloud-like creature we encountered is called Themis, the goddess of justice. Long ago we... We met when I got my powers.- He said breathing wearily as he remembered and saw part of Zeus' memory.

- She was sweet and fair, but after that I never saw her again, but I know it's her.

Her power was like that of Themis, it is impossible to be mistaken, it must be her.

She responded to the greeting of the gods so it must be her.- He said with some discussion in his mind.

- Is she dangerous?.- Batman asked knowing the answer, but he had the promise of the goddess in mind.

- I haven't seen her for a long time, but I can assure you that she will keep her word.- He said, still looking at Batman and hoping that that was enough.

After a while, Batman lowered his gaze thoughtfully and addressed everyone.

- Everyone, go home and rest, when the rest of the team returns, you want them to rest as well. Captain, I want a report and everything you know about Themis. Wonder Woman, seeing your reaction you also know Themis, I want a report from you also. Tomorrow I will read you and report back to you all in 3 days. For now rest and think about something other than the goddess. It may be too much for you.

- Wonder Woman, I'll see you in three days.- He said as he looked at the monitor where the call was transmitted and walked over to it to turn it off.

Batman stared at the control panel for a while and with a breath looked at everyone in the room.

- I will leave to think more about our unspoken decision. I'm leaving for now.-  Batman said as he walked out of the room.

As Superman followed him to find out more about what would happen the rest stayed in the room with Constantine's complaints.

Superman stopped Batman from behind with a hand on his shoulder, but seeing that Batman had nothing to say to him he let him go.

Batman headed for the teleporter to return to the cave and was enveloped in a blinding light.

-

Dick heard the sound of teleporting back into the cave and turned to see his father slowly leaving.

- What's up B?.- Shouted Nightwing leaning back in his chair against the cave's computer screen, while Red Robin watched his next case on the screen.

He received no more greetings or glances from his two sons in the cave, but Batman couldn't feel safer.

When he didn't respond to Nightwing, his sons stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

- Are you all right Batman, are we on alert?.- Asked Red Robin watching him from the swivel chair.

His two sons looked worried as they received no response from him. Time passed and seeing the serious faces of his sons, he rethought what he was doing.

- I'm fine, it was just an unexpected incursion.- He said wearily as he looked in the direction of his sons.

He approached and stopped in front of them.

At first he didn't look like he wanted to do anything and just stood still in front of his oldest son, but as he saw his son's concern, his tiredness became clear and he hugged his oldest son.

- This is very strange B, you're not usually like this.- Said Nightwing scared by Batman's hug and not knowing whether to accept it and return it.

While Red Robin looked worried, he approached him to know what was going on, but Batman seeing that he was only worried about his sons separated from the hug and grabbed Nightwing's shoulder.

- I'm sorry, today's experience was a little rough and when I got home I guess the fatigue hit me hard.- He said releasing his grip on Nightwing's shoulder.

- I'm going to lie down for a bit and then I'll be back, I need the computer free when I get there.- He said as he broke off and headed for the elevator.

His children stood back watching as he staggered Batman and headed for the elevator. Once at the top he changed and stopped being Batman.

Bruce Wayne had returned home and just wanted to rest, so he headed to the living room and sat on the couch staring at nothing.

- Would you like a coffee, Master Bruce.- He heard, jumping up from his seat in fright.

He turned wearily knowing that Alfred was next to him and with a quick glance he asked him.

- Hello Alfred, no, I don't want a coffee now... Maybe, ¿Earl grey?.- He asked looking at Alfred.

Alfred looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but he accepted the proposal and went to his kitchen to prepare the black tea. When Alfred left, he stared straight ahead and let his mind go blank.

-

While in the cave Nightwing kept staring at the elevator door where his father had come up.

- That was weird, wasn't it.- Nightwing asked Red Robin who was still behind him sitting in the computer chair.

- We can look at his DNA to find out it's him, if you want. I got some of his hair while I was hugging you.- Said Red Robin as he held up one hand showing some of the hairs he had gotten from B.

Nightwing placed one of his hands on Red Robin's shoulder to stop him and with a laugh tried to calm him down.

- He's fine Red, I think he's just tired and a little overwhelmed. After his nap he'll be back to his usual self. Don't worry so much.- He calmed Red Robin with a smile.

Once they calmed down, they both went back to work. The experience of B hugging out of nowhere came back into Red Robin's head.

He stopped whatever he was doing on the computer and Nightwing became concerned when he noticed it. He looked at Red Robin's still fingers and decided to go check on B.

- What do you say we get changed and get some rest, let's see if B is resting.- He said to Red Robin as he smiled to relax his little brother.

Red Robin just placed his right hand on his shoulder to loosen the tense muscles and left the computer to go with Nightwing to change.

- He was so tired that he even came upstairs in disguise hahaha- Red Robin commented as he changed.

Nightwing could only laugh at his brother's attempt to lighten the atmosphere and once they changed they went up in the elevator.

Arriving at the top, they saw Alfred cleaning with a feather duster some of the things they found along the corridor.

- Al! Thank goodness we found you, do you know if B is still resting.- Said Dick as he turned to Alfred.

Alfred greeted them as usual and explained.

- I am pleased to report that Master Bruce is resting in the main hall.- He said, happy that his master is resting.

The brothers just looked somewhat puzzled at Alfred for knowing that B was rested. Alfred seeing that they were not convinced decided to open the living room door and beckon the brothers with his hand to come closer.

As they peeked their heads out they could see Bruce resting on the couch facing the window overlooking the garden. They closed the door leaving their father to rest and then looked in surprise at Alfred.

- When I took the Earl grey to the master Bruce, he was completely asleep, so I let him rest and he is still there as far as I can see.- He said amused, still looking at the door of the room where his master was resting.

Then he turned his gaze to the two brothers and when he saw the eyes of the master Tim frowned.

- And you two had better get some rest, Master Tim's dark circles under his eyes may rival whether or not he is still wearing his mask.- He said, pushing them in the direction of the stairs so they could go up to their rooms.

- All right, all right, all right. Now come on. Are the others all right? - Said Tim reluctantly, but smiling, as he was pushed by Alfred together with Dick to their respective rooms.

- Don't worry master Tim, your brothers are already in the mansion since some time ago and they are resting in their respective rooms.- Said Alfred tired to see that even being so early in the morning, two of the children of the house had not yet gone to bed.

Arriving on their own on the second floor, they waved goodbye and separated to rest.

Even though it was still morning they should not sleep, but seeing their father so relaxed made them doze off and they fell into an immediate sleep.

Chapter Text

When Jason opened his eyes he had the window in front of him and the day had passed, the sun had not yet risen.

He got up from the floor sore and wondered if he had passed out or something, he hadn't fallen into a deep sleep like that so quickly a long time ago.

Turning around he saw someone lying on his couch and instantly pulled out the gun pointing it at the intruder.

Looking better he saw a woman with 3 children asleep on his couch.

“So what happened yesterday was real, did he no longer have lazarus water in her body?”

His assimilation was slow, but with each passing second, his emotions crumbled to unheard and joyful questions, to the point of just being happy to stop listening to the voices in his head.

- Control your emotions or you will wake up the children,- He heard and her emotions stopped becoming clear.

Still with a smile he looked towards the woman, Themis, and was about to give her a hug, but that was not a good idea, it would wake up the children.

- I told you to control your emotions, your core does not stop emanating emotions of happiness and euphoria, if it continues like this the children will wake up,- Themis said again with a more serious face.

This time he really had to try, so he decided to sit on the floor in front of Themis and take a deep breath, he thought about her brothers, her father, the joker....

- I told you to stop emanating emotions, not to change them to ones of hatred and rage, the children will have nightmares if you keep this up,- Jason listened and when he heard that the children could get hurt he put his thoughts aside.

His emotions change quickly, and it overwhelmed him. Normally he was always somewhat furious or angry, but this time it was gone and he felt sadness.

He was about to cry from so many emotions in a row when he opened his eyes and saw a slipper flying directly at his face.

He ended up being thrown onto the small table behind him until he looked up at the ceiling and when he knew where he was, he looked at Themis somewhat angrily.

- What was that for!- He asked, whispering and shouting at the same time in Themis' direction.

- I saw you with so many mixed emotions in such a short time that even I got dizzy. That's why I decided to help you think of something else. Did it work?.- Themis answered whispering and with mischief in the last question.

Jason had to say yes, because even though his nose hurt, his emotions seemed to be less overwhelming and the kids seemed more asleep than when he got up.

He approached Themis this time calmer and as he sat down on the floor he took a deep breath, keeping his emotions in check.

He watched as he received approval from Themis and continued to breathe, in the darkness of the night. He closed his eyes to concentrate and took a deep breath.

Between his breaths he began to see lights and started to guess that it might be lack of air or too much of it, but the more he kept looking into the darkness, he kept seeing more lights. “The more I look, they look like stars.” He heard children's voices laughing and his eyes snapped open.

He had forgotten the most important thing.

He straightened up, getting up from the floor and looked at Themis on the couch.

- I know it's too soon to ask (he said glancing at the window), but I wanted to know more about what you did to me and where you're from,- He said seriously, looking into the woman's eyes.

Themis didn't seem to be very moved by Jason's words, but she kept looking into his eyes, when she stopped looking at them she tightened the blanket in her hand and lowered her head to see a little girl asleep in her arms.

- I must not explain without my king's permission. If he asks me to, I will explain what is necessary, but you must understand, where we come from is kept secret from all realities and universes for a reason. Even if you are similar to us, you are more alive than dead,- Themis explained with some sorrow.

Jason just looked at her and rethought everything. After a while he lowered his head and remembered that she had called one of the children king.

He snapped his head up and looked at Danny. Themis' hands seemed to tighten and when he looked into her eyes, he saw anger in her, but he didn't feel it.

- Dan can give you more information if he wants to give it to you or tell me to explain it to you, but my king needs rest and a safe place to stay. We were sent here and I have the task of taking care of you,- Themis said looking at him as if she expected Jason was going to wake them up.

- All right, all right. I'll wait for them to wake up and I won't ask him to make you talk, unless he does it without my telling him to,- He said dejectedly, but patiently.

He looked at the sleeping children and his heart grew tender. His stress was gone and the only thing on his mind was to see his family and tell them, but probably if he told them now, he would not be able to return to his territory.

Then, the whining of a child was heard waking up.

Dan was waking up.

Both Themis and Jason were watching his awakening, hoping he wouldn't wake the others, but this didn't happen and he seemed to be the only one awake.

He stirred and cautiously opened his eyes to see Jason sitting on the floor, watching him.

He moved closer to Themis until he realized he was curled up next to her, clasping his hands over her he continued to look at Jason.

- Why are you still here?- He says in his hoarse little voice from sleeping.

Jason just looked at him amused and got up to his kitchen.

- Look where you are shorty, this is my house. You should thank your savior kid,- He said pointing at himself as if he had really saved him from the most dangerous being.

He went to get a glass tumbler he had stored in one of the kitchen cupboards and filled it at the tap; he approached him with a glass of water to the couch. He extended the glass with a smile so the boy could see that nothing was wrong, but Dan first looked at Themis in fright. When he saw Themis nod he took the glass, with difficulty.

Jason helped him hold the glass and received an astonished look from the boy, but decided to drink the water.

He brought it slowly to his mouth in fright and sipped a small mouthful.

Seconds passed and it seemed that time had stopped, the only thing that could be heard in the room was the clock placed in the kitchen.

Then Dan drank from the glass as if he had never drank before, he swallowed the water as if it were food and tears came out of his eyes. 

The tears didn´t stop, but the boy's content crying could be heard. He tried to hide behind the glass, so that he would not be seen crying, but he came out from behind it to approach Themis, pulling his hair away from her ear to whisper something to her.

The pained look on Themis' face turned to guilt, after looking at Dan, she held her glass and handed it back to Jason.

- Could you give her some more water, please?,- She said with pity but insistence in her eyes.

- Of course I will, and when the others wake up they will have some too. I want to thank them for what they have done in some way and I don't even know how to begin,- Said Jason grabbing the glass back and going to the kitchen.

As she filled the glass she heard Dan's crying stop, as she turned around to go back to the couch, she found Themis stroking Dan's head to calm him and heard the other children slowly waking up.

Realizing their words, she decided to turn back to the kitchen and fill four more glasses. 

He filled them with a smile on his face so as not to scare the children and when he approached the children, instead of sitting on the floor, he sat on the couch. In order not to disturb them so much, he left the glasses on the small table next to the sofa,

- Why are you making such a silly face?,- Asked Dan, still red in the face from crying over a glass of water.

He gave him an even more cheerful smile and put his arm around him (seeing that Themis let him) and decided to shake his hair.

- And look who's talking midget,- He stopped when he felt Dan's hand slapping his hand.

For a moment it reminded her of Damian when he did it, but when he pulled his hand away, Dan climbed up on Themis' legs and hugged her around the waist giving her a triumphant smile. “That boy.”

From the other side of the couch peeked Danny, who with bright eyes looked around the room as he made his way over to him. Once he looked at him he moved closer and sniffed around him.

- This time you don't smell bad!- He said cheerfully with a hoarse voice from sleeping that he didn't seem to mind.

At Danny's words the room seemed to go into a wave of happiness. The little girl in Themis' arms, Dani, also woke up happy and content.

She raised her hands as if she was celebrating with Danny and Themis moved her close to her brother and saw her crawling awkwardly on the couch, so, Dani decided to lay on her back as she gurgled like a happy bird.

Jason was suffering from more questions when the little girl made that sound. 

It wasn't normal.

Something was going on in this mysterious family.

His thoughts stopped when he saw Danny discussing trifles with Dan.

It reminded him of his brothers and him.

When they fought over nothing special. He felt like he regretted what he did by starting fights with him, since he never liked them he would leave, but now that he had a clearer mind, he misses those fights.

She lowered her head thinking about the memories of the past until she felt the hands of a boy on one of her legs. When she raised her head she discovered that the atmosphere was sad and that the girl didn't seem so happy anymore.

- Are you ok?.- Danny asked with a hoarse voice and worried eyes.

Jason when he saw that nobody seemed happy, smiled, he tried to cheer up and to get out of that situation by tousling Danny's hair, as he did with Dan.

- I'm fine kid, don't worry,- He said smiling at Danny.

His hand stopped when he noticed that the feeling of sadness did not go away and when he saw that Danny was still looking at him with worried eyes, he looked for anything to entertain the boy.

He just remembered the glasses of water he had brought and turned to get them. He offered them to Danny, Dan and Themis, but the only one who seemed to be holding the glass was Dan.

When Danny looked at Themis he had thoughtful eyes until he saw Dan trying to go for the glass. Then Themis decided to hold one to bring the glass closer to Dan, while Danny had incredulous eyes for his brother's decision, but that didn't stop him from asking Themis with his eyes.

- It's trustworthy my king, you can drink with peace of mind,- She said ducking his head and closing his eyes.

Danny seemed hesitant to choose to hold the glass, so Jason helped him.

He approached one of the glasses he had in his hand and when he brought it closer to Danny, he saw how he was scared. He tried to speak, but seeing that Danny was having a hard time saying anything, Jason decided to reassure him.

- It's ok boy, if you don't want it you can always say no with your head,- Jason said with a smile to reassure him.

Danny looked more scared with every passing minute and started to shake. Just before the boy got worse, Dan appeared behind him to calm him down, but when he saw him his eyes were no longer of fear, but of terror, his tremors got worse and he was about to hyperventilate. 

It was then when Dan said something to Themis, and she approached Danny with worried eyes. Before taking him in her arms she asked him if it was okay to receive contact, and when she saw that the boy nodded, she picked him up in her arms and placed him on her chest, covering any possible light with one of her hands.

She got up from the couch and started pacing around the room talking to Danny about something.

Wanting to ask about it and knowing that possibly, from Themis she would get nothing, she lowered her gaze to find Dan. He had little Dani in his arms hugging her and they both looked at Danny with a worried eye.

- Will you let me try to give water to the little one?,- Said Jason trying to touch Dan on his back to bring him a little bit back to the room.

Dan when he turned around looked surprised, but when he saw Jason he looked at him with contempt (he reminds him too much of Damian).

He watched as the little girl tugged at Dan's clothes to get him to look at her and when he got it the little girl with a reassuring smile nodded at him.

“A baby who understands and understands her environment, very good, the most normal thing in the world"- Thought Jason incredulously.

Dan with discussion in his head and thoughtful eyes sighed and looked at Themis pacing back and forth in front of the window. Looking at Dani he decided to hand her over to Jason.

Jason left Dani on the couch leaning against the back of the couch and making her drink from the glass “I should buy a bottle”, Dani seemed to drink the water well, although sometimes some water came out of the sides, wetting her clothes.

Meanwhile Dan looked concerned as he gave her a drink, but did not interrupt him.

When he finished the glass, he congratulated her when he saw that she had finished with all the water and got up to get a cloth to dry her, even if only a little.

As he got up, he heard Dan approach Dani and inspect her.

- Are you okay?, are you in pain?,- Dan's concerned voice said.

Jason found a clean cloth and went back to the couch and noticed that the little girl was crying too. Her tears, slower and less abundant than Dan's, seemed to have no end.

Her hands tried to stop her tears, but they were no good with just a few little hands, nor Dan's. So he brought the rag closer and asked if he could do more to help dry her tears.

As he asked he saw Dan's face was one of disbelief but Dani's, even though she was still small, her face of disbelief looked more stunned. He saw how the little girl's tears seemed to become more abundant as he asked if he could help and Jason began to worry.

After a while Dani nodded haltingly and let Jason help her wipe her face.

When everything seemed to stop he looked at Themis again and noticed that she had remained still looking out the closed window. She turned around to see him and when she looked at the children and saw that they were fine she smiled at them and went to the sofa with Danny still in her arms.

Dan held Dani in his arms and when Themis sat down on the couch where she was before, the children sat leaning against her side. Dan pulled Dani up onto Themis' legs while he stayed on Themis' right side.

Jason noticed that Danny had fallen asleep cuddling Themis and hadn't been able to drink. 

- We'll talk tomorrow, now is not the time,- Themis whispered.

Jason understood that the children had gone through something very traumatic for them and he should let them rest, so he nodded understanding that it was not the moment.

He got up and returned to his place on the floor in front of the window leaning on the right side of the couch.

- I'll stand guard, you rest,- He whispered to Themis wearily.

This time he couldn't fall asleep, it was just a short time before the morning sun would rise and a fury to find the parents of these children and kill them arose from him.

Then someone hit him hard on his head. He clenched his head place and teeth in an attempt not to scream.

- Calm down or you will wake up the children,- He heard Themis whisper.

He sighed and mischievously thought of something else. If his emotions were clear, all he had to think about was soothing things so as not to wake anyone up.

That wouldn't put him to sleep, would it?

Chapter Text

When Jason woke up, again, this time he didn't open his eyes. He felt so tired and good, that even though he was still sitting up, he never felt so at ease and he didn't want that to end.

So he decided to stay on the floor closing his eyes waiting for sleep to invade him again, but something didn't seem to let him sleep again. Restlessness.

He shouldn't fall asleep in that situation but he didn't remember why.

- Are you awake, sir?. - Asked the low voice of a child.

Jason woke up opening his eyes quickly and lowering his gaze he found a boy resting his hands on one of his legs.

For a moment he remained tense thinking about what was happening, but remembering what happened last night, the tension disappeared and with a smile he raised his hand to tousle the boy's hair.

The boy seemed to tense at the touch and his eyes looked a little frightened, but he said nothing at the action.

When he stopped the boy seemed less tense and gave him a smile that made what had happened in the morning seem as if it had been a dream, but Jason remembered the terrified eyes of the three children.

- Good morning Danny, how did you sleep?. - He whispered knowing that after having an attack one felt more tired.

- I am fine sir, but I think there is something wrong with Themis.- Said the boy a little worried, but happy to be near Jason.

Jason listened to Danny and got up worried that Themis had some repercussions of having extracted the blood from his body.

On the couch he found Themis completely dejected. She was lying on the couch, surrounded by a little girl playing on her tummy with one of her hands and Dan poking Themis in the face with one of his little fingers.

When he saw Themis's drool trickle out of her open mouth, her anxiety ceased and with a sigh he felt herself relax.

He closed her eyes knowing he didn't have to worry and got up to sit in front of the couch.

At some point she had to wake up.

- What are you looking at face?.- Said Dan looking at him and stopped when he saw Dani looking at him.

He sighed dejectedly but with a face of contempt he looked at him waiting for an answer, but when he didn't receive one, he raised his voice and asked again.

- I asked you a question, what do you think you're looking at?.- He said again, throwing Jason off balance with his tone.

He turned his gaze to Themis when he heard Dan use such a high tone of voice, but calmed down when he saw that she was still asleep.

With angry eyes but a forced smile he grabbed Dan's head closing his mouth and moving it as if tousling his hair. Just as Dan started to complain he lifted Dan's head to look him in the eye, his smile disappeared turning serious.

- You better stop talking nonsense kid, remember you're in my house and be nicer. Lower your voice or don't talk.- He said noticing how Dan seemed to tense up and start shaking from his grip.

Slowly he decided to remove his hand and head to the kitchen to see what he had in the house. He opened the fridge to find a carton of milk that was most likely expired.

He closed the fridge only to see little Danny standing there looking at him angrily.

- You can't treat my brother like that, he doesn't know how to talk to people other than us,.- He said intertwining his arms across his chest indignantly.

Jason covered his mouth to cover his contained laughter, but that didn't stop Danny from noticing and approached him reprimanding him for what had happened on the couch.

He tried to get him to stop but they both stopped when they heard the couch move. They both turned their heads to see Themis getting up and looking at his surroundings calmly with sleepy eyes.

Themis looked at Dan and picked him up next to Dani like little bears and snuggled them to her chest leaning against the couch. As Dan snuggled Dan seemed to calm down and stopped shaking and just like Themis and Dani, Dani couldn't resist and fell asleep again in no time.

Jason was amazed at how quickly he was able to calm him down and get him to sleep. He wondered if it was some quirk that his kind had or something.

Seeing Danny just as impressed as he was, he couldn't move. Seriously he didn't know about her. He was supposed to know something to clarify his doubts to Jason, but apparently he was wrong.

Jason felt as someone pulled his pants and looked at Danny.

- What's up kid?- He asked the boy whispering and bending down a little.

The boy with curious eyes pointed to a book sticking out of his bookshelf which had caught the boy's attention.

At first he thought of the boy, but then he remembered that this was not a book adapted for children and was frightened, the content was not very nice to say the least. First he suggested doing something else to distract the child.

He said a lot of things but the child was curious about the word food. He thought maybe he was hungry because he had not had any dinner and thought about what he could prepare, but he didn't know if children have allergies or preferences.

Better to wait for Themis to wake up and not scare her by disappearing without saying anything.

Besides, he was missing a lot of ingredients.

-

When I awoke, my king was leaning on my right side playing with my hand, while the sleeping princes were snuggled in my right arm and on my chest.

I turned my head to the window light and found Jason peering through it in concern, but when he saw me awake his concern seemed to disappear making him smile happily.

- Good thing you're awake. I was wondering what you would like for breakfast and if you would like to come with me to the market for food. No pressure.- I looked at him dumbfounded thinking of something I hadn't thought of yet, since they didn't need food I hadn't thought of food.

Food is essential for humans and they had human bodies.

She turned her gaze to Danny to see how his eyes sparkled with enormous curiosity and even if she wanted to go unnoticed, she had to make her king happy, so she looked at Jason.

- It's okay to go with you to the market for food. I'll fill you in on the children's tastes when we're there.- She said a little tired but happy to know that her king was looking forward to going out to see a world he had forgotten.

Both Danny and Jason seemed happy to know they were going out, but the happier of the two was still Danny, making his emotions clear through his core.

Those emotions seemed to wake Dan and Dani from their slumber and with a reassuring smile he watched them wake up and lowered them onto his sleepy lap.

As Dan scratched his eye with a clenched fist he looked around and when he saw Dani so happy, he turned his tired gaze to Themis.

- What did I miss?.- He said waiting for Themis to answer him, but when she opened her mouth to respond, she was slow to say anything and Dan raised one of his leaves.

- We are going down with Jason to buy food!.-Danny said excitedly, scaring Dan for shouting right behind him.

Themis smiled knowing that her king and princess were happy to go out, although Dan didn't seem too excited to go out.

- You've got to be kidding me, we can't just go out like this. We are supposed to lay low in this new place,.- He said refusing to leave the safe house.

Danny seemed to get discouraged knowing that he was right and that it would be better to stay at home, but he saw Jason approaching.

- It's ok kid, if something happens I will protect you and if your goal is to go unnoticed, you couldn't have chosen a better city than Gotham.-  Jason said, ruffling Dan's hair as he smiled.

- Right?.- He looked at Themis thinking about whether he should do it or not, but he looked at him and with a not very convinced smile he said.

- It would be good to go down for food, we already bought clothes, I don't see why we couldn't buy food. Besides, I think you would need to eat first to become strong children again.- She said finishing her sentence looking at the small children.

Dan thought about the possibility of leaving and when he saw Danny's pleas in his eyes and Dani being happy to get out of that house, he sighed and approved the exit.

- But before we leave we have to set some rules,.- He said raising a hand stopping Themis from moving to get up from the couch with the kids.

- First you should, you MUST greet us by our names or just children, calling us princes or king is very suspicious and will draw a lot of attention.- Dan said raising a finger and watching as Themis, although she seemed sad not to say her titles, agreed with Dan's decision.

- Second, you shouldn't wait for us to give you an order to do things, you can protect us and be free to do whatever you want,.- He said, raising his second finger and closing his eyes thoughtfully.

- And third, you can't kill anyone. Even if we are in danger, killing someone draws a lot of attention and more like you do. So forget about killing for a season,.- He said insisting that he was not to kill anyone under any conditions.

Themis was confused about Dan's orders. If the first one gave him complete freedom of orders, not killing should not be valid, and even the others, but seeing Dan in his eyes the concern for the still undead, she decided to nod to see Dan sigh of reassurance.

- I can always kill them in a place where no one will see,.- She said, hoping that this was the reason for Dan's decision.

But that made Dan frustrated and he looked at her again with sharp eyes. He ended up angry when he saw that he would not receive an answer from Themis and insisted again that human life is complicated and that we could not play with it even though some deserved it.

That very conversation made Dani snort with laughter and look at Dan with incredulous eyes but a smile at what he had heard.

Seeing Dan's reaction she blushed and started to babble excuses but Danny appeared next to her stopping her babbling.

- Then we can go downstairs,.- He said excited about the idea of going out.

Themis cuddled Dani in her arms and thinking for a moment she turned to the children.

- I guess we can go out to buy food without killing anyone and above all, most importantly (She looked at Danny) never getting separated from the group,.- She said to the children, but especially to Danny, who looked like a child with a chance to run away.

She watched as Danny got up from the couch to celebrate with Jason his departure to the street and helped a dejected Dan down from the couch.

Jason smiled and ruffled Danny's hair telling him he had to get ready to leave.

He went into one of the rooms in the house and after a while came out in a different outfit placing one of his guns on his back.

He looked at the still family, he thought and after a realization a light bulb seemed to go on.

- I think food is not the only thing we need to buy, we lack clothes, but we better go buy something to eat and then we will think about clothes," Jason said laughing a little, but when he received no response, rather than bewilderment from everyone he decided to stop and focus.

He picked up the keys to the entrance and looked at the door. He turned to look into her eyes and asked, "Are you sure about this?

- Are you sure about this?.- He seemed troubled by the decision and the idea of leaving so soon.

Still, a strong aura of protection emanated from him the moment he said he will protect us, so Themis holding Danny's hands, nodded with a reassuring and determined smile.

-

Jason seemed to sense Themis' decision and smiled that it wasn't such a bad idea to let them leave so soon, so he turned to open the door.

Just outside his door he found a grumpy boy with his arms clasped across his upturned chest.

- I came to see if you were okay since the family chat is worried because you didn't respond since yesterday. That makes the house unbearable.- Damian said, looking inside the house to see Themis, Danny, Dan and Dani.

- I can see that you are fine and that you could have answered the chat, but I would like to know why you hid your children from the family,.- he said pointing to the children.

- They are not mine, you fucking demon!- He shouted at the boy outside.

Just at that moment Danny approached Jason's legs to get a better look at the boy outside and with curious eyes he looked at Damian.

Damian looked at Danny and Jason's face a couple of times comparing features.

- It's true he doesn't look much like you, but not many have black hair and blue eyes in the city. Besides, he could have gone out to his mother,.- He said thoughtfully, looking at Danny and pointing at Themis with his hand.

Jason looked like he was about to get into a physical fight, but he felt Danny tug on his pants.

- Sir, is he someone you can trust?.- He asked with concern in his eyes.

So with a forced smile he stepped aside so the others could see Damian better and introduced him.

- This is my younger brother, the walking demon Damian. He's not threatening unless you give him a knife... Hey Damian we were about to go shopping for food, are you in or would you rather let the family know I'm ok?" He asked with a forced smile to Damian holding Danny's back to make him feel safe.

Damian didn't seem to show any emotion on his face, but from him you could sense emotions of reassurance that Jason was safe.

His eagerness to stay was noticeable, or at least Themis could notice them, but after Damian gave them all a look he turned to Jason.

- I think I'd better come back later, 5 is already too many and I don't think you'd want more people,-  Damian said to Jason.

Jason seemed relieved to know Damian was leaving, looking him in the eyes he said.

- Thank you little devil, 4 kids are too many to keep an eye on.- He said laughing quietly dodging one of Damian's fists.

- You know I'm not a kid, Tood,.- Damian said angrily.

- I know, I know,.-  Jason said laughing at his brother, but then he watched as Damian said goodbye to the others, apologizing that his presence was so short.

As Damian left, he noticed how Danny's body relaxed and let go of his grip on Jason's pants.

Jason watched as Damian walked down the stairs and although he knew he would be watching them from a distance, he was grateful to be left alone for now.

Although now I would have to explain to the family.

Chapter Text

When they arrived at the store near the safe house, he didn't expect Danny to examine and ask about everything he found. It was as if he had never seen the world before, as if he had been isolated from it. He needed to change that.

The journey had been similar, but none of the family said a word. They just looked at everything that seemed strange to them with surprised faces, looking with curious and cautious eyes, but it wasn't until they arrived at the store that Danny decided to let go of Dan's hand and explore, always staying close to Themis or his siblings.

While they were in the store, Themis remained alert, watching the food and the children.

She smiled every time Danny showed her some food or asked about something, but when she didn't know what to say, Jason decided to answer the boy's questions.

- You know a lot about this world, reborn, although that's normal considering how little you know about our world,- she said calmly as she watched the children argue about whether or not they knew what blueberry cereal was.

Jason leaned on the shopping cart, surprised by what Themis had said, but he didn't mention what they were, as they had ears everywhere. He didn't know if it would be okay to start this conversation in this situation, but something was on his mind.

At that moment, he remembered.

- Do the children have any food preferences?.- He said nervously, laughing as he watched Themis's calm expression change to guilt.

- I don't really know, but I don't think they care much. They eat everything and don't react badly to any food... The only thing is, they haven't eaten in a long time, which is why they look smaller than they should.- She said as they looked down at Dani sleeping in Themis' arms.- They weigh very little.- She said with guilty eyes, but Jason couldn't contain his concern and approached her.

He placed a hand on her back, and when Themis lifted her head to look him in the eyes, Jason couldn't bear to look into her golden eyes and looked at the little girl instead.

- They are now in a safe place and will be able to eat as much as they want.- He said, hoping that this would ease the burden of pain Themis was feeling.- But even so, that makes breakfast, lunch, and dinner easier. First, we need to find porridge and soups. Then we'll buy whatever the children decide, but without so much freedom for sweets.- He said, rambling about the upcoming meals in a playful way to make Themis happy.

When he saw a small curve in the corners of Themis's mouth, Jason was relieved to know that she could laugh, even if only a little.

- Come on, let's buy until we're full, my old man is treating us.- He said, pushing the shopping cart toward the children, smiling at the card he stole from his brother, courtesy of his father.

Themis followed him closely, but when the children, especially Danny, were happy, instead of reminding her to stay close, she approached and followed him alongside Dan, both concerned. Dan complained that she wasn't following the rules, and Themis remained silent.

He didn't scold them, nor did he want to get involved in their little sibling fights. First, he had to feed them and take away their fear.

Time flew by, and when he realized it, the shopping cart was full of food. He had gone overboard; they would have to call a taxi to take the bags.

I turned around to see the children looking nervous next to Themis, who was looking around.

Confused, he decided to tell them that they had to pay for their purchases so they could go home, and he pushed the shopping cart, feeling that Themis and the children were close behind him, accompanying him to the checkout. When they were just one aisle away from the checkout, he stopped hearing footsteps behind him.

He stopped the shopping cart and turned around to see Themis stopping Danny with one hand and Dan hiding behind her and looking at the floor.

The little girl was also awake, but she moved closer to Themis' chest as if she was afraid to look and wanted to cover herself with Themis' arms.

Jason, concerned, stepped back and approached the family. He asked them if they were okay, but saw that Themis' eyes went from worried to serious.

She handed him the girl to take care of and looked at him seriously.

- Take care of the children, I have to take care of something.- Said Themis, telling Dan to stay close to Jason and that he would follow her orders.

Jason was completely confused, but when he went to ask, he heard a gunshot nearby.

- Hand over the money and put your hands up, you sons of b*tches! You know how this works.- He heard, coming from the cash register.

He worried about what Themis would do alone in a situation like this, but when he was about to move, he realized he had the children with him and that it was a bad idea to go near the cash register.

He felt the hands of the three children holding onto his clothes, hiding from whatever was happening in the box, but he had to do something; he couldn't leave Themis alone.

- Hey! Are you deaf? I said hands up! Can't you hear me?! Hey! Do you think you're the hero of the store or what?! You better aaarrrgh!.- He heard the criminal's voice seem to worry about Themis' appearance until the cry of pain.

He heard a gun fall and knew he could leave without worry, always making sure everything was safe for the children.

When he poked his head out to see what was happening, he saw Themis immobilizing the thief on the floor. In her eyes, he could see the bloodlust for simply endangering the children, but when Themis raised her head and saw that the children seemed to be safe, her eyes relaxed and she looked at the cashier to see what she should do.

- Are people like them forgiven, or is something done to them?.- Asked, confused about what to do with the man beneath her.

The cashier laughed somewhat stiffly and threw her some zip ties.

- For now, tie him up and I'll call the police. The rest of you can relax and continue what you were doing.- He said listlessly, but relieved that it was all over.

He saw Danny run over to Themis and look at her worriedly.

- Themis, are you okay?.- I asked repeatedly between her questions and Themis pushing the thief away, almost throwing him against one of the walls near the checkout area. She softened her face and, with a smile, lifted him in her arms and hugged him.

After the hug, she held Danny's neck, bringing their foreheads together, and looked him in the eyes reassuringly.

- I'm fine, Danny, you don't need to worry about me. I'll always be by your side protecting you.- She said calmly, closing her eyes.

Looking down, she saw Dan next to Themis calling her, pulling on her pants. As the little girl turned to see that it was all over, she saw her wanting to go into Themis' arms, reaching out her little arms in her direction.

Themis knelt down, leaving Danny on the floor, and hugged them both, whispering that everything was okay.

Jason approached Themis with a completely nervous little girl, picked her up from the floor, held her close to his chest, and whispered that everything was okay.

When he saw that everyone seemed so stunned that they weren't moving or making any sound, he decided to speak.

- Um... I see you're okay, stay here, I'll go get the cart.- He said, noticing that people were reacting to his voice and tensely moving to continue what they were doing.

Confused by what had happened, he went to get the cart, loading the food and other items onto the conveyor belt.

- If you didn't have so many items, you could take them for free, haha... Thank you very much for earlier, ma'am. Would a 20% discount be acceptable as a token of our gratitude?.- Asked the cashier uncertainly to the family before starting to scan the items.

Themis turned to look at Jason, waiting for him to decide what to do, since he was the one who would be paying.

“All right, kid, if you want, you can give us a discount, but I hope it doesn't happen again.- He said, jokingly getting angry as if he were his boss.

- Hahahaha, very good, sir, but this is Gotham. If it's not today, it'll be tomorrow. Still, I'm glad it wasn't on my shift. You saved me from a lot of trouble, miss.- He said, amused and tired.

Jason couldn't argue, because it was true that Gotham was bad, at least in that area, but they were better off than the other side of town. He looked at the thief on the floor leaning against the wall. He looked scared and was shaking a little, but he wasn't saying anything. Jason found that strange.

Once the groceries were paid for and packed into their bags, Jason wondered how he would carry the five bags with him, but Themis grabbed three of the bags with one of his free hands and lifted them as if they weighed nothing.

- You can carry the other two bags if you don't mind, I'll carry little Dani.- She said calmly.

Jason was amazed by his strength, but after saying goodbye to the cashier, they headed home, watching as Dan prevented Danny from running off.

-

After arriving home, they left the bags on the counter and Themis turned to stroke the children's heads.

She told them they could play whatever they wanted, as long as they stayed inside the house, and that if they were hungry, she would make dinner soon.

While Jason calmly put the groceries away in the drawers and refrigerator, leaving the bathroom items on the kitchen counter to take care of later, he watched as Themis put Dani down on the floor to play with the twins.

The three seemed reluctant to leave Themis, but when they sat on the floor and saw that Themis would stay close by, they calmed down and began whispering to each other.

Meanwhile, Themis approached him and asked what they would have for lunch.

- Oh, right... I guess you forgot because of the thief, but today we'll have porridge for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Tomorrow we'll change it up and make soup, and depending on how the kids react, we'll add more things to the list.

He took the porridge out of the bag and put it on the table, then went to get the water and, with Themis's help, managed to finish quickly. He called the children and helped the twins sit in the high chairs at the counter. He went to lift Dani when he noticed that Themis was pouring a very familiar green water into the porridge.

- Don't even think about feeding them that.- Said, holding back his anger so as not to scare the children, holding Themis's hand as she stirred the porridge.

Themis seemed surprised by his reaction, but with her other hand she let go of the hand that had stopped her.

- If you want to know more, you must be patient and, above all, open-minded, Jason.

Confused, he looked at Themis and saw calmness in her actions. He noticed that it seemed normal for her to mix Lazarus' water with the food, and although it seemed strange to him, watching Themis' actions, he decided to take out four bowls to put the porridge in.

He brought them over to Themis and placed the spoons in their place on the counter. Then, with the girl in his arms, he watched as Themis served the porridge to the children.

Jason just remembered.

- It may not be the best, but for now this will be their meal. Eat slowly and chew your food.- He said, noticing Themis sitting next to Jason.

He saw the children look at the food as if it were going to attack them, but after poking it with his spoon, Dan decided to take a spoonful of porridge into his mouth.

After a while, he noticed Dan shaking and crying silent tears, still with the spoon in his mouth. Meanwhile, Danny cried happily, happy to be able to eat something.

Just then, Themis got up to approach them, but the children were frightened and, with pleading eyes, held on to their bowls so that they couldn't be taken away.

Themis slowly approached and, placing herself between the two children, whispered to them.

- Everything is fine now, Dan and my king. No one is going to take your food away. You can eat in peace.- She said, holding the children's heads.

She saw Danny bring a spoonful of porridge to his mouth more calmly.

Jason felt the girl in his arms tremble and, not knowing what to do, called to Themis with worried eyes.

When Themis looked up to see what was happening, she went to Jason to take the little girl, and once she had her in her arms, she asked if she could wipe the twins' tears.

Jason looked for a handkerchief and went to the children while he watched Themis whispering things similar to what she had said to the children to Dani.

After she stopped trembling a little, he saw Themis bring a spoon close to Dani so she could eat, which was a success, but it brought similar tears from her.

When the meal ended with many tears, the children looked exhausted. They called Themis to lie down with them, but it seemed that the little girl had already fallen asleep in Themis' arms.

Jason helped carry Dan, who had refused to be carried by Jason, while Danny rested in one of Jason's arms.

Themis settled down on the sofa surrounded by the children, but before they fell asleep, she asked them.

- Is it okay if I explain our situation to him?-  Seeing Danny leaning against Themis to sleep and Dan thinking.

Dan looked her in the eyes and, with a tired sigh, leaned against Themis like his brother.

- If you think he needs to know, you have my permission to tell him and explain what we are. Don't leave this idiot with questions.- He said before falling asleep.

After a few minutes, during which he took the opportunity to wash the dishes, he noticed that only three plates had been eaten. Neither he nor Themis had eaten anything; he assumed that with the children crying, they hadn't been able to eat.

Finished washing the dishes and drying his hands, he sat on the floor in front of Themis, waiting for answers to his questions.

He looked at her, hoping that the children's sleep wasn't an excuse not to talk, but after staring at Themis, she sighed and spoke.

- I'll answer one question at a time. I don't want questions in rapid succession, otherwise I won't answer until I have a single question.- She whispered to Jason with tired eyes.

Jason agreed to that condition and, eager to receive answers, began with his first question.

- What are you?- He asked, a little afraid of sounding offensive.

- They call us Alphas. We are beings with human bodies, but we can transform ourselves into entities called ghosts. That means we have two bodies that we have to maintain, either with normal food or ectoplasm. Some people understand it better with the example of Schrödinger's cat.- She said seriously as she looked at Jason.

- Wait, wait, wait, ghosts? Hahaha... No way... Does that mean you're human? Or at least you used to be? - He asked curiously and thoughtfully.

- Yes, no, not entirely, at least. Having human bodies doesn't make us human. The only ones who have been able to live a human life are Dan and Danny. Dani and I weren't born human.- She said, looking tenderly at Dani.

- All right, then... What did you do to me when you took out Lazarus' fury?.- He asked, with even more questions forming in his head.

- I don't know what Lazarus' fury is, but if you're referring to your core, all I did was replace the corrupt ectoplasm you had with clean ectoplasm.- Themis replied, somewhat bewildered.

- I still don't understand. What do you mean by ectoplasm?

- Ectoplasm is part of ghosts, so we have it too. It gives us energy to maintain our form and live. Children can receive it by being close to me, but they can also receive it in food such as porridge. Later on, they will be able to generate it themselves.- She said, extending a hand to create a small orb of ectoplasm in her hands.

That simple action gave Jason goose bumps. He didn't know that Lazarus water was so similar to ectoplasm, and he reacted with terror as the orb visibly moved away from him.

- It's not harmful to people like us, even to you. People who haven't died may suffer from it, but for us it's necessary for life.- Said Themis, looking at the orb in her hands.

Jason didn't doubt Themis' words, but fear invaded his mind. She assured him that it was safe for dead people, and he was one of them, wasn't he?

- You are reborn. You are not dead, but you were part of Danny's kingdom. Now you just live your life in another world with your original body.

With that clarification, Jason looked more closely at the orb and saw that although it resembled Lazarus' water, it looked somehow... clean. 

It had a bright color that illuminated them like a lava lamp and had no black traces. Just as he was thinking of raising his hand to touch the orb, Themis closed her hand, making the orb disappear.

- Why did you come here?.- Asked, determined to find out about the children's parents.

The atmosphere seemed to cool, and when Jason looked at Themis, he saw no reaction.

- We came on the recommendation of an acquaintance of mine. I arrived with an agreement between the kingdom's guards and the aforementioned acquaintance. However, the children. - She remained silent, thinking about how to say his next words.

But after a while, Themis told him everything about how she had gotten there and what she had done to get the children out of their old home.

Chapter Text

The room had lost its initial coldness, and the silence seemed like torture to Jason's thoughts.

His head was boiling with rage.

His thoughts wandered to useless questions like, Why didn't anyone know anything? Or How did no one notice before? 

FIVE YEARS had passed, and no one had helped them. Until now.

His initial questions dissipated and, dismayed, he asked.

- Did you know?

Themis only looked away at the sleeping children.

She looked at them guiltily, wishing she could have done something for them sooner, but she did not answer.

Jason felt his vision turn green, but this was not uncontrollable rage clouding his thoughts; he had a reason to feel this way. He could feel the urge to kill those parents for a clear reason and not just because, even though he knew they were already dead.

Innocent children had suffered at the hands of their own parents just for having powers, just for being Metas.

The fury inside him intensified as he looked at the children. Although their clothes covered most of their skin, he could see a Lichtenberg scar running up Danny's neck, the scars on Dan's face, the slight burns on Dani's hands, and the clear malnutrition in all three children.

These children had been through hell and seemed not to care about what they had been through.

In the short time I spent with them, I noticed the children's obvious trauma, but when I saw them sleeping peacefully next to Themis, one would think they were just ordinary street children who had not been through hell.

Jason turned his gaze back to Themis, hoping that this time she would answer his question.

Themis looked at him again and, with tired eyes, opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated and closed her mouth again.

Her eyes were doubtful and hurt, but with a sigh she decided to speak.

- Watchers like me cannot interact with realities or universes at will... Things happen for a reason, even if it's unfair... But the children by my side are not only the prince and princess of my kingdom, but the king of infinite kingdoms was with them, and that is something that does not happen in all realities. I waited for many years for something to change their course; for my teacher to do something like he did long ago, for there to be a change, but it never happened in the main reality. In many other universes, he escaped alone, managed to flee before they started using him, or even his parents realized their mistake and he became stronger, but it never happened. They remained blind to his actions, and I couldn't keep watching as my king's main reality disappeared.

Jason felt his anger growing and shouted back at him.

- HOW COULD YOU WAIT UNTIL NOW?! COULDN'T YOU HAVE ACTED SOONER?!- He shouted, getting up from the floor, feeling that his anger was directed not only at her, but also at the children's parents.

Themis didn't respond, even though she knew she had a good reason, but she knew Jason was right.

Then she felt one of the children move and look at Jason with contempt.

- HOW DARE YOU- little Dan said with hatred. She could see the fury reflected in his eyes, but his body was trembling from Jason's shouting.

Jason was stunned by the child's tone of hatred. His eyes remained fixed on the child who seemed to be protecting Themis from Jason despite his fear of him.

He saw how the other children seemed to wake up tense, clinging to Themis in fear, and Jason couldn't bear that the children who had helped him were afraid of him, so he decided to leave the apartment to relax, even if only a little.

–

Dan watched as Jason left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

The screams that had woken him up were not what he expected to hear after eating something for the first time in a long time.

Hearing Jason criticize Themis' actions made him angry. 

His instincts made him growl with the helplessness he felt at not being able to defend Themis from Jason's words, because even though he was right in saying that she could have acted sooner, she was the only one who did anything.

No one wanted to come, let alone help them during those five years.

- That bastard needs to know his place- He said, lowering his voice, but still with contempt.

He turned around to see if Themis was okay, but found a woman who didn't seem hurt by what they had said, but was frightened to see Dani and Danny trembling from Jason's screams.

- It's okay, kids, everything's fine now. No one will hurt you, it's safe.- Themis began whispering, drawing the children close and hugging them.

Dan was stunned by how his guardian handled her emotions. She had seemed sad a minute ago, but now she was completely focused on the children rather than herself.

Themis turned her sad gaze to Dan, and her expression changed to one of concern. She reached out her hands to Dan, whispering words similar to the ones before.

Then Dan looked down and realized that his hands were shaking. At first, he thought it was because of the anger he felt over what had happened with Jason, but he was actually scared. His emotions seemed too much even for his 22-year-old mind. The damn child's body made him receptive to more emotions than he thought, although it was probably the fault of his wounded core. He still didn't know why.

Dan wanted to find answers to his reaction to the screams, but his thoughts ceased when he felt Themis' hands holding his.

- Dan, it's okay, it's okay. Come here, it'll all pass.- Themis recited again as if that would calm him down.

Anger began to rise in Dan, and he let go of Themis' hands.

- No, it's not right. He deserves punishment for what he said. This isn't fair.- Dan said angrily, not wanting to look into Themis's hurt eyes as he avoided her hands.

This time, he didn't feel gentle hands asking him to calm down, but was instead pulled directly into Themis's arms along with the other children.

Dan fought against Themis's grip, not wanting to feel better. He wanted to stay angry, he wanted to get rid of that human. He could destroy the world once again if he were at 100%, and this time he wouldn't have to fight a younger version of himself.

He didn't want to be there, he didn't want to feel safe. He shouldn't...

His eyes clouded over.

- I can't help but repeat myself, I know it's not your fault.- He said, closing his eyes tightly to keep the tears from falling as he stopped struggling in Themis' arms.- We're safe now, they're gone, but still lately, I begin to shake for no reason at all...

He felt the arms around him tighten and could feel the waves of calm and security from Themis' core.

Dan was stunned by Themis' actions, considering that if she continued like this, reality would be damaged, but when he looked up, he met Themis' dead eyes.

She looked like an emotionless doll, but even so, she continued to emanate feelings of calm and security.

Dani and Danny stopped shaking and seemed to calm down with Themis's emotions, but Dan was not comfortable with what he was seeing. It seemed strange to him.

- Everything is fine, Dan. I won't let anyone hurt you or your brothers.- Said Themis in a soothing voice as she stroked Dan's back, but her eyes remained empty.

Dan, his hands still trembling, raised his hands and held Themis's head.

- You know very well that you must stop showing your core, but that doesn't mean you have to stop feeling for yourself.- He said seriously, making it clear that it was best not to attract anyone's attention, hiding the emotions of Themis' core.

She could still show emotions, but not as a ghost, but as a human, and it was something she wasn't doing correctly.

Themis seemed to realize her mistake and quickly stopped emanating emotions. Her surroundings became clearer, noticing the moonlight peeking through the window.

Dani and Danny looked at Dan for answers for his actions, but everything became clear when they saw Themis' dead eyes.

They, like Dan, were concerned and hugged her tighter.

- Are you okay? Did someone hurt you?.- Danny asked innocently, wanting to know what was wrong with Themis.

- I'm fine, my king, nothing can destroy this guardian,. She said, trying to reassure the children, but sadness could be detected in her words.

Dan didn't seem convinced by Themis' words and decided to address the issue that he believed had caused her to feel that way.

- It's not your fault that we went through that. You couldn't, or rather, you shouldn't have come to save us, and yet you did...- He waited for some kind of response from Themis, but all he got was her blank stare.

- I could... I could have left earlier, I could have decided to do something before even...- She began nervously, but stopped talking when she felt Dan's small hands brushing her cheeks.

- No ‘could,’ 'could,' COULD. It's all done now... and if that damn clock hasn't done anything, it's for a reason, as much as I hate it.- He said, looking at the other two children.

- Do you hate me?.- She heard Themis' broken voice.

The children looked up to see the sadness of their guardian, but found only the same expressionless doll as before. The only emotions visible to the children were the tone of her voice.

Dan was afraid that Themis felt they hated her, but that wasn't the case.

- No, no, we don't hate you. You saved us, and now you're here with us... You're healing us, feeding us, clothing us, and you found us a place to stay. That's more than our parents ever did for us.- He said, irritated at the thought that Themis really felt they hated her.

- But Jason is right, I could have done something sooner, and I just stood by and did nothing.- She said, avoiding Dan's gaze.

The children didn't know what to do to make Themis understand that they were more than grateful to be there with her.

So he came up with an idea: if they couldn't make her understand with words, they would use their emotions, even if it hurt them.

“Calmness.” “Gratitude.” “Fear.” “Love.”

Themis looked up at Dan, puzzled, and saw something shining in his empty eyes.

- I don't care what you might have done, I am... all three of us are grateful that you saved us.- Said Dan, seeing the others nod so that Themis could see that all three agreed with what Dan was saying.

She didn't seem convinced by what they were saying.

- Thank you.- Said Danny, not knowing what else he could do to calm her down.

This time, Themis looked up and stared into Danny's eyes as if she could see into his soul.

Danny grabbed Themis' sweatshirt tighter and, looking her in the eyes, repeated himself.

- Thank you, thank you, thank you. We never thanked you for getting us out of there. Thank you for saving us.- He said quickly, nervous about the looks he was getting.

- That's right, Danny is right. Themis, thank you for getting us out of there.- He said, surprised he hadn't thought of that before.

Meanwhile, the little girl who was now on Themis' left side babbled worriedly, holding tightly to her sweatshirt.

This time, Themis seemed to understand that the children did not hate her, and knowing that they were grateful and loved her brought out the feelings she had kept hidden.

Themis' eyes began to well up and lost their previous emptiness.

- Do you really forgive me?.- She said in a hurt voice.

- There's nothing to forgive, Themis, only to be thankful for.- Said Dan, letting go of Themis' face and hugging her along with the other two children.

The children felt Themis' arms begin to wrap around them, and minutes later she began to tremble. They felt small drops falling and knew that Themis was finally showing clear human emotions.

The four of them decided to rest until the sun came up, sleeping in Themis' arms.

–

Meanwhile, Jason had changed into Red Hood and was walking around the rooftops of Crime Hill with clear frustration, while someone in the darkness watched him from afar.

Chapter Text

3 Days Earlier ~

Damian had returned from school and noticed that the house was too quiet, which put him on alert. Alfred didn't seem to be around as usual, the mansion was silent, without the annoying voices of his father's children or his grandfather's footsteps.

On alert, he crossed the hallway, hoping to find Alfred nearby.

He passed by one of the rooms closest to the entrance, noticing that the door was closed. He opened the door cautiously, only to see his father asleep on the sofa as he had never seen him before.

Coming out of his astonishment, he was about to wake his father when a hand rested on the door, stopping Damian. He recognized the hands and turning around found his grandfather.

- Alfred, is he drugged?

Alfred smiled and, without fear of waking Bruce, replied.

- No, young Damian. He came back from a somewhat revealing mission and is just resting.

- Strange... What about the others?

- Resting in their rooms.

- It's 2 p.m. How can they all be sleeping? Did I miss an important patrol?

At this point, Damian was confused, and Alfred just smiled calmly at him.

- For now, let's let them rest. Lunch will be served in 30 minutes. Get changed and make yourself comfortable.

Damian complied and, after making sure that Grayson and Drake were indeed asleep, went downstairs to check the Batcomputer. He searched for recent records, but found nothing related to his father's latest mission. There were only records of a mission by Hood and Grayson, in addition to Drake's usual activities.

Frustrated, he looked for other ways to find out what had happened and thought of the security cameras in the cave.

There he could see him, his father, arriving more rigid than usual, not answering his children's questions and hugging Grayson.

After watching his father go upstairs still wearing his suit, Grayson and Drake went upstairs changed.

Damian's first thought was brainwashing, but when he realized the time, he went upstairs and left the Batcomputer. He went to the dining room, finding the table set for four people.

He sat down at his place, waiting for someone to appear, but only Alfred arrived with his food.

- I'm afraid your father and the others may not arrive on time. For now, eat quietly.

Damian nodded, and just as he was about to start, the door opened, revealing the aforementioned individuals. 

Raising his eyebrow made his brothers stop and apologize for their tardiness, but his father didn't seem to notice and just carried on. He sighed and waited for everyone to sit down and for Alfred to serve the remaining food.

- So... What was so exhausting that you slept in until after noon?

His brothers seemed to think about how to respond, while his father remained as disconnected as before.

- Ahem... Well, it just made us a little sleepy after seeing B drooling on the couch.- He said with a smile, waiting for his father to react to his teasing. 

- ...

Everyone waited for Bruce to respond, but he remained pensive, lost in his own world.

- ¿¡?! Aren't you going to say anything, Father?.- He asked angrily, banging on the table when he received no response or reaction from his father.

His brothers, on the other hand, reacted with surprise at Damian's change of attitude, turning their gaze to Bruce to see his response.

Bruce seemed to wake up from his reverie and looked at his youngest son, who, although angry, he could see was clearly concerned.

- It was just a shocking mission, you don't need to know about it.

That answer angered his children, knowing that even if they complained, they would not get any information from their father, so with disappointed expressions, they continued eating.

-

Two days passed and Damian kept a close eye on his father, spying on him and watching as his behavior seemed paranoid out of nowhere. 

He could see his father struggling to find something, but he didn't know what exactly.

During one of his inspections of the Batcomputer, he found a map of Gotham with certain areas marked, most of them in Crime Hill.

One of the marked areas looked familiar to him; he searched for the last recorded location of Hood and Grayson's mission, and it was the same location. 

He checked the security cameras, finding them corrupted and damaged during his brothers' appearance.

He decided to look for Hood on his night patrol, visiting his most recent safe house.

-

He entered Hood's busiest safe house. He went through the rooms but found no recent signs that he had been there, and asking Grayson was not an option. From the beginning, he had been hiding something from him, and he couldn't trust him.

The safe house wasn't helping him at all, so he decided to search the area. Time passed, and with no leads, he decided to leave.

Just as he was about to leave Crime Hill, he saw Nightwing jumping across the rooftops.

Damian hadn't reported his departure, and running into Grayson wasn't so bad, but they could put him back on the bench for breaking the rules again if he ratted him out.

He decided to follow him in case he knew where Hood was. Grayson, like Damian, seemed to be looking for him without knowing his location, but during one of their breaks, they saw him. A red blur running and jumping across the rooftops, abruptly and inefficiently.

Grayson ran after him to a rooftop where Hood stopped. He didn't notice anyone else's presence, but he was clearly angry and could be dangerous.

Damian stayed in the shadows with his katana ready in case he had to come out.

Chapter Text

Jason was furious, outraged, and above all frustrated by what he now knew.

He stopped on one of the roofs of Crime Hill, muttering complaints under his breath to vent his anger, even if only a little. His vision was green, and when he realized that words alone would not calm him down, he decided to punch one of the gargoyles on the roof.

It was just one punch, but it was enough to see that he had broken the part where he hit it. At first he didn't notice, but when he did and checked that his hand was uninjured, he was stunned.

Then he heard gravel moving on the roof; someone was approaching him.

He took out his guns and turned around to aim at the intruder.

- Hey, hey, it's okay, little wing, it's me.- Said Nightwing, raising his hands. 

Red Hood stood there for a few more minutes, pointing his guns at his brother, until he took a breath and lowered his weapons. He put them away and turned around.

- You know this is my territory, you shouldn't be here.- He said wearily, looking at where he should go.

Nightwing moved closer to him, wanting to talk.

- Yes, I'm sorry, Alita. Since that day in the warehouse, I only received that message from you, and I was worried. You don't look very happy. Did something happen?.- Nightwing said, somewhat concerned, seeing his brother's angry state.

Jason didn't want to get angry in front of his brother, remembering the times he had done so before; he didn't feel right doing it again.

He took a breath and, after feeling his anger fade, turned around and approached his brother.

- I'm sorry you saw me like that. The truth is, I was hoping our reunion would be different.- He said calmly and sadly, but he was getting emotional.

Nightwing seemed more confused with every step Hood took toward him; he hadn't expected his brother to calm down so easily.

- The truth is, I wanted to tell you something.- He said as he removed his helmet to reveal a masked face, but with a smile his brother hadn't seen in years.

–

Nightwing couldn't believe it.

His dear littlewing, his little brother, WAS CURED!!!

He no longer had Lazaro's anger in his body; he could control himself without excessive effort.

He didn't know how, but when he realized it, he was hugging his brother while crying like a child who had found his mother. 

He stood there, not afraid that his brother would hurt him, and even heard his brother calming him down by patting him on the back, which only made him cry more.

It was really happening, and all on a rooftop.

He had to take Jason to the mansion and tell everyone.

- We have to tell everyone, we have to celebrate, ha ha ha.- Said Nightwing, reluctantly breaking away from the embrace, holding his brother's shoulders and crying. (This mask is killing me.)

Jason seemed happy with the idea and laughed at his brother's reaction to the news, but he fell silent, thinking.

- The truth is, Dikybrid, I don't think I'm ready to tell everyone yet. I'm sure if I saw them now I could tell them, but I'd like to meditate more on the new emotions I'm feeling. Since Lazaro's anger left, everything feels more intense, not just anger. ...Happiness, sadness... It's all too much. I wouldn't want to break down when Bruce sees me like this.- He said with a smile, but with sadness in his eyes.

- I understand, littlewing. Let's not rush things. You don't need to do it now. We can wait until you're ready.- He said, happy to know that his brother was willing to tell them, even if it was later.

- But still, I want to know how this happened. Is it something to do with that girl I found you with in the warehouse?.- He said, now without visible tears and with the seriousness of a detective, curious and concerned about what had happened to his brother so that he could be healthy again.

- Actually, I don't know if I should tell you, because of a strange issue involving the dead and the living, but since it's just going to be between us, I'll tell you for now, but nothing leaves here until I have permission.- He said thoughtfully and seriously.

Jason walked over to the edge of the building to sit down, motioning for his brother to sit next to him. Nightwing approached Hood and sat down cross-legged.

- All right, it all starts with me being like dead...

–

The sun began to rise in the Gotham sky, the light hitting the windows of the buildings, waking almost everyone. Dan was one of the first to wake up before the others.

He looked around and noticed that Jason had not yet returned. He snorted in irritation and looked at Themis's face. Her eyelids were red and her face was slightly damp from tears that had not been wiped away.

Dan felt sorry for her situation, but let it go when he heard the door open.

He turned to see Jason walking carefully, not wanting to wake anyone, but when he saw Dan's contemptuous look at him, Jason sighed and changed his posture to a more relaxed one, but with guilt in his eyes.

- H-hi. Hey, sorry about earlier, I really didn't mean to...

- Save it, you don't need to apologize to me, but to her.- He said, stopping Jason's speech and looking back at Themis.

Jason looked alongside Dan at the image of someone devastated for not having done anything before and felt sorry for him.

- As angry as you are about the situation we're in, which is longer than you heard, you have no right to be angry with the only person who helped us.- He said, turning back to Jason.

- She's different from any ghost we've encountered. Even though she doesn't know us, she helped us without us having to fight her. She didn't ask for anything in return. She even told Danny that he needed to be punished for leaving his post and disobeying the only rule he had imposed.- He said with pity, looking at his hands.

Jason began to understand that he had been very hard on someone who had been punishing herself from the beginning. Jason sighed, catching Dan's attention, and when Dan raised an eyebrow in curiosity, Jason stifled a laugh.

- I'm sorry, it's just that you really look like the demon child in my family...- He said, feeling the atmosphere relax.

He just frowned at him and looked away angrily, pouting his lips.

- Just so you know, I'm unique. Even if Danny and I were once the same, now I'm my own person.- He said moodily, leaving Jason with more questions than answers.

Jason relaxed and looked at the others sleeping. He felt he had to do something to wake them up calmly, so he turned to the kitchen and began to take out the ingredients they had bought the other day to make soup.

He turned to see Dan looking at him curiously and gave him a reassuring smile.

- Do you want to help me make breakfast, Dan?.- Dan's expression was one of surprise at first, but after thinking about it, he carefully climbed down from Themis' lap and struggled to get off the sofa to go to the kitchen.

Jason didn't need to do anything to indicate what he wanted him to do. Dan moved according to his thoughts, and as he stirred the soup already on the stove, he wondered if Dan could read his mind.

- I can't read your mind, if that's what you're thinking.- Dan said mischievously.

Jason was a little startled, his eyes showed it, but he just sighed and gave the boy a questioning look.

The boy just laughed at him and began to shake his head.

- We're strange to humans, but not so strange that we can read minds... yet.- He said, thinking about the possibility with amusement.

Jason no longer knew what to think of this strange family, so he simply didn't. It's better to be happy living in ignorance, for now.

Jason kept his inner detective to himself (damn Bruce and his upbringing) and decided to keep stirring the soup.

Dan stared at him intently, seemingly searching for answers to what Jason was thinking, but Jason, as he said before, couldn't read minds and still didn't know what Dan really thought of Themis.

–

Time passed and Themis began to open her tired eyes. 

The smell of food in the apartment relaxed her, but when she didn't sense the young prince's core, she became alarmed. She sat up and looked around the apartment, only to find him talking to Jason about something, but she couldn't hear them because they were speaking so quietly. I guess they didn't want to wake them up.

Themis decided to look down at the two children she had with her and start waking them up by moving around a little.

- It's time to wake up, children. You have something delicious to eat.- She said in a hoarse voice from what had happened that morning.

At that moment, Jason and Dan turned around in surprise. Dan climbed down from the stool where he was sitting and came as fast as he could on his little legs, while Jason turned down the heat on the stove and chased after Dan.

As they were about to arrive, she heard the children complaining, not wanting to get up from where they were, but they began to smell the food from the apartment and started peeking out from between Themis' arms, watching as Dan tried to climb onto the sofa and Jason wondered what he should do.

Dani gave Jason an annoyed look, while Danny seemed hurt by Jason's opinion of Themis, but when Jason looked at her, he saw that she was neither sad nor upset.

She gave him a reassuring smile. Even though she had traces of tears and looked tired, she didn't show that Jason's words had affected her.

Jason felt even more guilt inside, and his core conveyed that feeling of guilt as he saw the children's eyes turn to him with concern.

Jason decided to bow down to the floor to apologize.

- I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry for saying all that to you without knowing everything. I shouldn't have judged you for your actions, let alone left you alone when I was supposed to be protecting you and the children while you were asleep.- He said, afraid to look at Themis.

Themis felt sorry for the responsibility Jason had taken upon himself and brought Dan closer to his brothers.

- Jason, it's not your job to protect us or watch over us. I'll take care of protecting the children. You've already done a lot by letting us stay here, feeding us, and giving us clothes. I'm very grateful for that. I accept your apology, so get up off the floor and help me feed the children. I think it's getting too late for breakfast," she said, amused at the thought that she spends more time asleep than awake.

Jason got up and looked at Themis' genuine smile, and that was enough to calm him down and smile back at her.

- Even so, you shouldn't forgive someone so easily. I hurt you, and even if you don't say it, I know it. I'll do everything I can to not make you sad again, and I'll protect the children, even if it's not my job. I feel like I have to do it deep down inside.- He said somewhat seriously, but keeping his smile.

Themis thought about why Jason felt that way, and coming from a ghost, or well, more or less a subject of the infinite realms, it was normal to feel that way about children, but she decided not to say anything.

- Okay, Jason. Next time, I won't forgive you, and you'll suffer my coldness until I  forgive you.- She said, smiling and lifting the children into her arms.

Jason responded with laughter and a hurt expression, saying that would be his divine punishment, in a theatrical way.

As the children were lifted up and guided to the table, they woke up even more and could feel the feelings of guilt dissipate and, instead, feelings of happiness flood them.

In the end, they all ended up at the table watching the children enjoy Jason and Dan's delicious soup.

- Hey, Themis, I was wondering why you weren't eating. Don't you like the soup?