"Kryptonite"s the safe word!

It felt like he was falling for a very long time through a dark tunnel. A feeling of peace washed over his mind while taking a breath in.  Calm energy washed over his body spreading to every nerve before settling into quiet darkness again. He could not tell how long he had been here or how he had gotten here in the first place.

Every so often part of his life was flashing before his eyes in an instant experiencing them once again fully. It almost felt like he was umping into different chapters in which he had lived. It all began with that first memory of him witnessing superman save a woman from being hit by a car in person. It was so surreal like watching a god come down and destroy his reality.

The woman that had been saved picking him up in her arms tears streaming down her face as the man of steel walked to them placing a hand on her shoulder “are you alright?” He said while looking at both of them. At the time he had not understood the gravity of things, but he sat there eyes wide.

“Who's this?” Superman asked with a smile on his face and looking at young Seph. He reached out placing a small hand to the symbol on the man’s chest. “He is my son his name is Drake. Say hi Drake” The little boy turned to his mother with his eyebrows furrowed glaring at his mom “Oh I’m sorry his name is Seph the guardian of our home” She corrected with a chuckle. His eyes focused on her smile for a moment as if he had forgotten the memory of it and it took most of his attention to remember it.

“He has such an imagination that he thinks of himself as the Superman of our home” She added which made Superman smile down to the boy. “oh really? Then I can count on Seph to take care of his mom?” He said to him. The little one looked up to the man of steel taking in the image of him for a moment wide-eyed and giving him a determined nod as he then wrapped his arms around his mom and hugged her . “good then she is in good hands” He said taking a step back giving them both a nod and taking off to the sky.

There was a large boom as Superman broke the sound barrier and his memory started to fade back into the darkness. The memory of his mother fading along with it, but her smile burned into his mind. How could he had forgotten that smile which brought so much light into his life. Something was missing from his memories or was this just his imagination getting the best of him?

He opened his mouth, but no sound would come out. So far there were a lot of good memories that passed, but some very vague that if written would be fragmented and out of order. Once again it felt like he was falling for a long time. The desolation taking hold of his heart making his chest feel heavy as if someone had placed great weight upon it.

He once again took a long deep breath letting cool energy spread throughout his body.  The haziness in his mind slowly clearing and he could hear a distant voice calling to him. “Drake” The name echoed over and over as his vision started to clear once again to the image of a blue sky and a yellow playground with other children running about, but the focus was on a little girl on the ground clutching her stuffed bear. She had a red burn mark just under her left cheek, which ran down to her shoulder. Scars from an incident long again that had marked her.

Seph stood in front of her with his fists clenched and his eyes furrowed and determined. He wore a blue shirt with Superman’s shield on the chest. Three older children stood in front of him, but their faces were fuzzy, as he could not remember what they looked or sounded like.  “Call her that one more time and you will regret it” his young courageous voice echoed in this memory.

“Drake don’t,” the little girl said looking up to his back. The bullies seemed to say something, but once again the memories were not all there. Seph gritted his teeth and ran towards the bullies only to trip on the mud. The three children ran up on him and started to beat him. There was the sound of children laughing as the memory started to fade away and the last thing he could see was the girl’s shadow kneeling over him after the fact. “Thank you Drake” He could hear her words as her small hands were placed on the muddy symbol on his chest.

Drifting back into the darkness he could not help but want to smile. It had not been his proudest moment, but it was one of the only defeats that he could remember. He kept falling through the memories of his childhood reliving those that he remembered and some that were new to him. It became clear to him that he had lost many memories, but he did not know why yet. His mother, the girl with the burn on her face, and his own name had been lost in time and he did not know why…

He took a deep breath as he could feel the fear of those implications set in. So many questions and too few answers, so it was time to start looking.  He had started to grow used to this place and how to somewhat navigate it. The heavier his anxiety the deeper he would travel into his memories. His sight cleared once more this time with a sharper image of what he was looking at. An avatar of his present self in his hero costume walking into the memory. His white hood was down, but he kept his mask on.

He was in a cold white room with a single door being the only exit. A metal table in the middle with a single light and the little Seph sitting down in his usual blue superman shirt, but it was covered in blood. His hair was soaked in it as well while it dripped down to his hands. His eyes were blank as if staring into nothingness. Seph walked around the table and leaned down taking a closer look.

The door opened as an officer walked in looking over the younger boy. He was a tall man with dark skin. His blue uniform was well kept as well as his badge was clean. Seph looked at the badge and recognized an older version of the Metropolis Police Department. The officer pulled the chair across the younger Seph “you still won’t talk to us?” He asked calmly, but there was no response. The boy had not even acknowledged that the officer was even there. The memory continued with the officer trying to ask question after question, but there was never a response even when asked about his name. Seph tried to keep himself poised and control his own emotions, but he could feel something swelling up. There was a pain there that felt so familiar and yet he could not put it together. The combination of frustration and pain, causing tears to start swelling and his focus diminished. The memory once again faded into nothingness, but he was close to his final answer. He could feel the pain leading him to it the moment that caused him to lose his memory.

‘One more time’ He thought to himself as he clenched his fists and took a deep breath once again. His avatar landing now in the middle of a broken street, cars were flipped and broken, fire spreading while the distant sound of screaming could be heard. He heard a gurgling behind and a quick shuffle him causing him to sidestep. It was a woman followed by a few others, but they were bleeding and moving very slowly. Their eyes were blank as they stumbled about passing him until another noise was heard. A man ran across the street in front of them making the herd howl and sprint to the man. Seph ran to the man, but as he tried to swing at one of the zombies his hand went right through. ‘Right…a memory’

He turned away gritting his teeth as he heard the man scream and gurgle as he was being torn apart. What was this place and why did it look more like present time metropolis? Wasn’t he looking at his past?

His train of thought was interrupted as a woman ran in front of him. The world seemed to move in slow motion as he recognized her. She held the young Seph in her arms as she ran. A horde of zombies behind her chasing them and howling. Ghostwing followed noticing that the zombies were having a hard time keeping up. He was hopeful until he heard his mother yell and a thud. He turned to see her on the ground trying to scramble by to her feet while a zombified joker laughed stumbling towards her.

The young Seph jumping up to his feet and standing between joker and his mother, but the horde was already upon them. His mother dove forward knocking Seph to the ground and surrounding him with her body as the zombies’ descended upon her back. Her tears landing onto Seph's face as he cried out for his mother. Ghostwing covered his mouth turning away as he fell to his knees. He could hear the flesh being torn away from her back, the crunch of her bones being broken and pulled out. He had lost focus, but the pain that poured out kept him here watching.

A familiar boom came from the sky as Superman came down tearing the zombies away from the woman only to find a corpse lying on a crying child. Seph was soaked in the blood of his mom as he cried grabbing onto Superman’s shield sobbing. Moments passed as the man of steel did not seem to know how to console the child he held.

A sudden streak of lightning passed Ghostwing and stopped near Superman. The man of steel glaring at the undead flash as it twitched with energy. He placed Seph on the ground and stepped in front of him. Seph looked up as Ghostwing remembered this moment clear as day. The sky was dark with smoke and when all seemed lost the image of the red tattered cape billowing in the wind gave him some light at the end of the tunnel.

The Flash ran forward while Superman reacted at the same time clashing and throwing the undead towards a building. Seph crawled to the mangled corpse of his mother reaching out for what remained of one of her hands. He collapsed forward as the memory started to turn dark. The young boy had lost consciousness and when he woke up he was in a younger Metropolis still covered in blood. He sat in the middle of the street blankly almost as if this had all been one bad dream.

Ghostwing walked up beside himself and sat down placing a hand on the head of his younger self. “I failed to protect her,” the little one said looking up at his older self. “I could not save anyone”

Ghostwing sighed letting his head hang suddenly realizing why Jason’s death had affected him so much. He had lost his family a long time ago and never dealt with it. Instead, his memories had been repressed and lost to time.  He wrapped an arm around Seph and placed his head on his. “we will not fail again” He told the little one.

Cars surrounded the boy as traffic had halted just in time to not run him over. Ghostwing stood up in front of his younger self. “I’m sorry I forgot about you, Drake…your loss made me who I am” He said as a shadow started to come down from the sky. A familiar blue costume and a hopeful shield landed lightly in front of the boy. A much younger Superman knelt down extending his hand “Come with me”

Ghostwing started to walk away from the memory pulling his hood up. Memories rushing around him from the time he spent in an orphanage to the time he had spent in the Wayne Manor. He could see clearly in front of him those who were waiting for him. Dick, Jason, Tim, Kat, Alexa, Alfred, Bruce, and Harley were his family now and he would not fail them.

As he traveled through the memories they all ended at the sound of a gunshot. Seph opened his eyes sitting on from the bed. He took a deep breath this time feeling how heavy he felt all of a sudden. He was back, but where was he? His eyes adjusting to the light he could see a distant giant penny and a T-rex. He smiled as he moved off the bed looking over his body to see the stitch which closed the bullet wound on his chest. He looked around for a moment and found a white shit and black pants to change into before walking out to the cave.

He walked over to the bat-computer checking for the date on the screen. He had been out for a few days. The bat-signal was going off, but no one was answering it. Seph clicked on it and a plethora of windows started to pop up showing that Gotham was burning. “oh no” He said turning around only to come face to face with Alfred who looked at him with a stoic look on his face almost judgmental. “Alfred I..” Seph started to say before the butler held a hand up.

“Master Seph I trained you to stay here and guard the cave with me no matter the situation. I asked you many times to be safe and make good decisions, as they will affect everyone around you He started to say. Seph stepped up “I know but..” he started to respond, but was once again cut short.

“I’m not done…I used to ask the same of Master Bruce and we both know he could not stay, The same could be said about every hero that has stepped into our home. You all have the instinct to protect those around you no matter the consequences, but that is what makes you different from the rest of us. As Batman would say ‘the mission continues’ and so all I can do is help you prepare” Alfred said while walking over to the vault where all of the suits were kept. On a table was Seph's uniform which was just a white sleeveless hoodie, a silver s Superman shirt and a pair of black jeans.

“if you must fight alongside them, then it is time you are equipped like them” Alfred continued as he pressed a button. A latch opened from the ground as a new cylinder came up next to the robin suits. “Ghostwing will always be part of the family”

Moments passed as Seph stepped out a nearby room wearing his new uniform. A white Kevlar sleeveless hoodie while under he wore black fiberglass studded suit with Superman’s shield on the chest, but instead of an S it carried a white variation of Nightwing’s chrest. His boots were armored to the knee and his hands were wrapped in his usual fashion. Alfred stepped up holding up a new mask placing it onto Seph’s face. “now be careful out there the City has fallen into chaos and they need all the help they can get.

“So cold” Bluejay chattered between strained breaths. She placed her hands together rubbing them hoping that the mittens would make enough friction to warm her up. Nightwing looked down to her and smiled “That’s why I said you should have stayed home today” He responded placing his hand on her head.

 “If I don’t come with I will never learn right?” She responded furrowing her brow against her blue mask. A moment of silence passed between the two standing on the edge of a Gotham rooftop when the sound of keys typing away could be heard a few feet away. They both turned to see the third of their party in his usual Ghostwing outfit made of black pants a black and white superman shirt with the shield on the chest and a white sleeveless hoodie.

 Ghostwing had a grin on his face as his phone was lighting up his face. He kept his phone close as he typed away. “Hey Ghostwing you spot anything?” Bluejay called out not moving away from Nightwing who was now standing straight with his hands to his hips. He raised a brow curiously as no response was made just more typing. Kat looked to Dick who only shrugged just as confused “Ghostwing! Report!” He said much louder clenching her fists.

“Yeah the city is ok” Ghostwing finally responded not taking his eyes off his phone as he stood up “But I should take a closer look….then…go home” He said between messeges . He waved at them and jumped off the side of the building.

 “That was weird right?” She said looking at Nightwing for answers, but he again only shrugged. “Just hug me I am cold” She said annoyed by his silence.

  A week later…

 “We thought you were dead” Alexa cried out holding her guns forward towards the Red Hood standing in front of her and Robin. Tim held his staff at the ready, his eyes narrowed and focused trying to create a way to get passed Jason’s defenses.

Red Hood kept his guns aimed as well one for Cardinal and the other for Robin “It did not take you long to get over it did it?” He said behind the muffled mask. The air was thick with tension and a silence that could break at any moment with the sound of violence and despair, but instead it was broken by the rift of a guitar.

“oh shi…hold on” Said Ghostwing as he pulled his phone out and started to walk further away from them. He started to whisper onto the phone with his back turned. Jason looked at them and back to Seph wondering if this was a trick. He put his guns down staring blankly. Alexa and Tim disengaging as well dumbfounded. Alexa raised her gun aiming it towards Ghostwing until tim placed the tip of his staff on her gun forcing her to set is back down.

 “ok…bye…” Seph said putting the phone in his pocket and looking back at the group that was staring at him. “I…uh…Have to go”

“Are you serios?” Tim said furrowing his brow. Jason put his guns in their holster and walked closer to Alexa and Tim while Seph waved and ran out of the warehouse.

“What’s up with him?” Red hood asked as he took his helmet off. He looked at the other two who seemed just as confused “truce?”

 A few days of planning later

 “Target is on sight. Everyone be careful as the snow makes the rooftops slippery” Nightwing said over the comms to the rest of the team. He stood at the top of a bell tower overlooking the slums below. He was extra careful this time knowing the target would spot him if he made any mistakes.

“this is not our first mission. We know ice is slippery” Jason responded sharply looking over a different position. He was looking through a pair of binoculars to the same street that Dick was looking at.

“Are we sure he lives here?” Alexa asked sitting at a restaurant holding a book up while sitting next to Kat who shrugged at the question.

Tim was back in the batcave looking over a map of Gotham “this is the only place where his signal converges often around the same time”

 Moments passed before there was movement on the roof of the apartment complex that they had been watching. The access door opened as a woman wearing an overcoat and a hat stepped out silently looking around. Everyone who could see stayed quiet watching the lone figure, but none could make out who it was.

“Ghostwing is on the move” Tim said to everyone as the white sleeveless hooded figure could be seen jumping from one roof to the next. He stopped in front of the woman and pulled his hood back. Everyone had hidden further except the girls who could not see from the restaurant across the street.

There was a conversation happening, but the voices were drowned out by the night life of Gotham. Sirens rang in the air while people could be heard yelling profanities at each other. Moments passed before Seph’s far away laugher could be heard before he took his mask off.

“Did he just…” Dick nearly fell off his hiding spot

“what?” Kat looked to Alexa

“He took off his mask” Jason said placing a hand over his face in disbelief. There were many rules that Batman taught them that he would often break, but this was one even he did not dare to even bend.

Tim was about to respond when he heard a metal tray landing on the ground behind him “Master Seph did what?”

 Seph took his shirt off and flipped it inside out to hide the shield on his chest. He held his arm out letting the woman take a hold of it as they made their way inside the building. “We see him” Said Alexa bringing the book up to her face while they watched Seph step out of the door of the building “She looks familiar” Kat said tilting her head.

They all started to move as they followed the two from a distance until they stopped in front of a restaurant. Kat and Alexa parked across the street looking at the couple as the woman took off the hat. Her long blonde hair and pale skin could be seen. “Oh my god…its Harley Quinn…Seph is on a date with Harley Quinn!” Kat yelled while shaking Alexa violently.

The rest of the team was in a quiet shock trying to compute what they had just heard. Alfred and Tim stared at the screen for a few moments “What are you doing?” Came the voice of Bruce behind them. They turned in horror as Tim spoke up “If I said nothing would you believe me?”

“Wait who is that?” Alexa said pointing at a large figure who now stood at the window of the restaurant. He wore a white coat and his head was wrapped in black bandages.Alexa saw as Seph’s smile turned into a frown and moved towards the window. Suddenly the world moved in slow motion as the sound of the bullet leaving the barrel echoed above the Gotham noise.

“You son of a bitch” Harley yelled as she threw a chair through the window and leapt towards the man only to be swatted away. He aimed his gun down Seph who laid on a pool of his own blood barely conscious. A few more shots rang, but this time the man slumped forward while Alexa unloaded her clips on his back.

He turned to aim only to meet Kat’s kick to the chest forcing him to take a step back, but it was like hitting a brick wall. This gave Harley enough time to recover and shove the man back out to the street where he was met by Red Hood and Nightwing who did not hesitate to move in on him. Like a well-oiled machine they switched between attacks.

The man gave a low growl before charging forward knocking the two back against a nearby car. He looked back to see the girls were starting to get ready to join in. He jumped up top the second-floor window and made his way to the roof. Dick and Jason aimed their grappling hooks up and fired “Take care of him” Nightwing pointed to Seph before the two disappeared to the roof to chase after the man.

A few weeks had passed since Seph had returned and surprised everyone in the Wayne Manor. He had been given a codename and immediately started his debut as the new hero of Gotham.

Kat watched the news on the tv as she was putting on her usual hoodie. “Breaking news Solomon Grundy is on a rampage at the slums.” The anchorwoman said as they transitioned to the camera on the ground. Grundy was tearing a car apart yelling like an animal. He grabbed one of the tires and threw it at the cameraman. There was a sudden flash of white, which made her smile “Dick look look” She called out. Dick Grayson opened the bathroom door stepping out and zipping up his nightwing outfit. “what is it?” He asked.

“its Seph!”

On the screen Seph had caught the wheel with one hand and turned his head to the camera “are you ok?” he asked before diving off towards Grundy. The big undead main raised his large fists and brought them down against GhostWing  who instead of Dodging he caught him by the wrists. His hoodie pulling back from the force and revealing his hair and mask. He pulled Grundy down as he jumped driving a knee against the monster’s jawline. His foot landing and spinning as his other foot connected into a back spin kick sending Grundy against another car, but before he could get up Ghostwing was back on him with a flurry of punches to the mid section. “its him the white hooded man they keep talking about in the slums. The Ghostwing!” The reporter said as the camera moved closer, but before they could reach the action Seph jumped up and started to climb onto a fires cape before disappearing onto a rooftop leaving Grundy in pain and grunting as the police surrounded him.

“You know his new abilities are kind of concerning” Kat said adjusting her mask before walking up to Nightwing and softly pressing his mask against his face. She leaned in and kissed his lips with a smile before stepping back. Nightwing smiled back answering “It is curious, but Seph is one of us and I am sure he has his reasons for not telling us how he got superpowers. Plus Bruce welcomed him back and you know how paranoid he can be”

They made their way out to the hangar where Nightwing’s motorcycle was. He got on and made space for her. Soon they were riding off towards Bludhaven where reports of the Joker taunting police and leaving  the scene. “its too bad Seph did not want to stay in the Manor I would have liked to stay in contact” Nightwing said through the comm.  Kat sighed and placed her head onto his back nuzzling up against him squeezing his midsection more. “yeah, but he said he wanted to have his own place in the slums so he could get in the action much faster.”

“I know, but I don’t think being alone like that is the best way to go. Look at Batman when he was running alone. As strong of will as he is I don’t know if he would have become a villain himself while alone. As long as there is Batman there will always be a Robin and I think Ghostwing will eventually need some companionship just like Nightwing will always have his Bluejay” he said with a smile as he turned the corner of a building and skidding to a stop. The building in front of them was on fire with a large smile painted on the sidewall. Nightwing hopped off the bike holding his hand back to signal Bluejay to stay.

The police cars were flipped and broken with the bodies laying around the street. The bodies had a wide pained smile on their face with the eyes bulging wide almost as if they were about to pop out of their skulls. “Nightwing over here” Bluejay said standing over the rubble ahead “Did I not say t stay on the bike?”” Nightwing said walking to her, but before she could answer he looked over the rubble to see a much bigger amount of bodies. Men, women and children all on the ground Mutilated and sliced open.

Nightwing pulled out his skrima sticks while Bluejay pulled out her staff extending it. Close to the building that was on fire there was a pile of bodies stacked high almost to the second floor.  At the top a few of the bodies were bent and set up to look like a throne chair. On it with a familiar devilish grin was the clown prince of crime himself as if waiting for someone to arrive. “So it is true what they say the Nightwing is not a ghost. Seems we have a case of mistaken identity” the Joker said laughing hysterically leaning back against the bodies. The fresh blood dripping down his shoulders and mixing with his hair.

Nightwing stepped up to the edge of the pile looking up as Bluejay stayed back a few feet. “you will pay for this Joker!” he yelled out charging up the pile spinning his skrima before leaping up to strike at the Joker, but before he could land the hit a sudden flash of white passed the joker kicking Nightwing on the chest sending him crashing down onto a car below. The figure landing next to Joker wearing a white, purple and red costume. “Harley!” Buejay called out after looking back at Dick who was already getting up coughing up some blood.

“oh don’t confuse me with that treacherous whore” the figure said with a wide grin on her face. From her back she pulled out two Sickles that were still dripping with blood. The blades were jagged to the point that they still had some flesh stuck between them. That was when Bluejay realized that thee red of her costume was some of the white that had now soaked in the blood of her victims.

The woman looked down and smiled back “you like? Normaly I don’t think red is my color, but I think blood red goes well with the purple” She said “you can call me Annie so don’t you dare confuse me with that harlot.” Annie looked back to the Joker “Can I have some more fun?” She asked. The Joker gave her behind a firm spank before speaking “Go wild!” Suddenly Bluejay was able to just raise her metal staff in time to catch the two sickles as they came bearing down on her at an incredible speed. Annie used the block to wing forward and kick Bluejay sending her tumbling against the car where Nightwing now stood. He jumped down from the car helping Bluejay up, but before they could catch their breath Annie was upon them swinging wildly. The duo was just able to defend themselves as each blow was heavier than it should be. Anytime they tried to carry out an offensive Annie would push them back.

“that’s it!” Nightwing  yelled out as he pushed forward sending a flurry of blows against Annie. Bluejay moving in standing behind her partner and stabbing at her with her staff every time there was an opening. Each hit from the staff driving Annie back until she was against the pile of bodies, but before they could give the finishing blow there was a gunshot from up above. The bullet grazing Bluejay on her arm forcing her to take a step back. Nightwing looked back to check if she was ok, but in that moment Annie kicked him and sent him against his partner.

“I think we got what we came for Annie” the Joker called out.

“but I wasn’t done!” Annie whined and then whimpered when her eyes met his and she coud see the anger behind them. She jumped back landing in front of him and walking behind the throne. She looked back eyeing the two below “We will meet again and next time it will be two birds with one blade”

As Nighwing and Bluejay recovered and looked up the Joker and Annie were gone. Are you ok?” He said looking back down at Kat looking her over. “I’m probably in better shape than you” She answered placing a hand against his ribcage causing him to flinch. “Definitely a few broken ribs”

“More importantly who was that?” Nightwing said.

Seph changed into a pair of black pants and a white tank top that had been laid out for him. He noticed these were his old clothes from when he used to live in the manor. The pants fit just right, but the top was tighter than he remembered. His costume was nowhere in sight, but he figured he would not need it or at least hoped not. He walked out taking in the view of the long hall remembering the days he spent working here.

He made his way to the main study and stood in front of the closed door taking in a deep breath. “come in” said Bruce from inside expectantly. Seph opened the door sheepishly while looking around. Bruce was sitting down on a chair while motioning him to sit across from him. He walked in closing the door behind him and made his way to the chair. The room was covered in rows of books a couple of stories tall. Above the fireplace was the familiar portrait of Bruce’s parents,  which made him think about his own parents living in Metropolis.

“ I know I have a lot of explaining to do” Seph started to say, but Bruce put his hand up while leaning back on his chair. “I have followed your career with CADMUS since you left. I do understand why you left, but I want to know why you came back”

“Am I unwelcome?” Seph asked.

“That depends on what you say next” Bruce responded. His faces unmoving like stone and his eyes sharp as if he could see through every intention. Seph took a deep breath leaning back on his chair. “Ok, so you know I been working for Waller for a few years”

“After Jason was killed I felt I was not good enough to be part of all this. My skills were limited and I was nowhere near as good a fighter as Jason was.  If someone like that could be lost then I had no chance. I decided to find my own way, but along that path Waller found me and offered me power that I was missing. Now before you make that face I knew who she was and refused, but she told me if I did not join then she would out you guys to the public.”

“I will assume you know about most of CADMUS’s projects like the Superboy “ Seph waited a moment as Bruce gave him a confirming nod.

“before the Superboy there was the super soldier program which I was ‘chosen’ for. They had taken a sample of Superman’s  blood from his battle with Doomsday and diluted a serum that would change our DNA into a human kryptonian hybrid. The first few subjects did not fair too well.  Turns out the subject needed to be prepared physically and even then only a few would gain any benefit. I was among the ones that made it through the experimentation phase. My team was called Ghost Alpha and we wered second generation super soldiers. From the first generation only one remained. As the second generation we were far more stable than the first, but we could only go as far a five percent of power before it hurts us. The first generation could get as far as fifteen.” “The problem was many of the first generation would destabilize and jump to one hundred and die in about two minutes. The second generation could only go to up to ten percent and keep full control if we fought through the pain.  Vax was the team leader and also the first generation captain. “

“We wore gauntlets that regulated how much power we could gain. Without them we were just normal people. “Seph moved closer to Bruce showing his arms. Taking a closer look one could see the scar tissue of needles from his wrists all the way up to his elbows.

“The more power needed, the more serum is injected by the gauntlets. The more serum, the more kryptonian we become temporarily. The UV liquid also filled our bodies with yellow sun energy. The project went wellover the years and we were successful in many missions including some off planet. The reason I returned was because the project was terminated after the last mission.” Seph gave a sigh leaning back and rubbing his temples. He was hesitant now, but Bruce waited watching him.

A few minutes passed and Seph composed himself. “The last mission we were sent on was deemed too dangerous for the Suicide Squad and it was also considered that the Justice League should be called. Waller decided that Ghost Alpha was enough. We had received information that Braniac had been spotted in our solar system and as you know that is never a good thing”

Bruce stood up and walked towards the fire. Seph paused watching him feeling a tear roll down his cheek. He sighed leaning back and looking up at the roof. “ I had trained hard to acquire the power I needed to never lose anyone again, but we were not prepared when Vax turned on us. Braniac had gotten to him and they wiped out the rest of my team. “

Seph’s eyes started to fill with anger gritting his teeth. His heart was starting to beat faster “We fought for what seemed like hours, but from what I have been told it was only a few minutes. Before I got away Braniac’s ship was heavily damaged from the battle and I lost consciousness on my way back. I woke up at the hospital two months later. I had exceeded twenty percent and my body went into shock. They told me they lost sight of Braniac’ ship and Vax had not been heard from again.”

“The super soldier project was terminated and Waller let me go knowing I would not expose her, except maybe to you. All I know is that the Superboy project had already been started before I woke up. I have spent the last few months searching for any signs of Vax coming back to earth, but I found nothing. I decided to come back home and hopefully be part of the family again” Seph said letting his head hang down. Bruce placed his hand on his shoulder griping it firmly. “Seph you never stopped being part of the family”

Seph gave a nod wiping his face and leaning back on the chair for a moment. Before he could say anything Bruce opened the door and as he did a group of people fell over. On the ground was Dick, Kat, Angel, Alexa, and Tim while Alfred was standing at the door. Sephs eyes opened wide as Kat, Dick, and Alexa tackled him off the chair. “That was so sad!!!” Kat and Alexa squealed with tears in they eyes. Dick flicked Seph on the forehead hard “that’s for leaving without telling us”

“I’m sorry guys” Seph responded pulling everyone into hug. Bruce smiled walking back to the fire. “if you want to be part of the team again you are going to need a codename” he said hitting a button under the fireplace. The batcave entrance opened as Seph stood up and walked towards it.  “I did give that a thought and I wanted to honor the allies I lost while also following the example of this family.”

After leaving Harley at the hotel it was time to get back on track. Seph made his way towards the Wayne manor on foot. He walked through the trees near the path letting his memories of the area flow back. He had memorized the area though the training Alfred had given him to defend their home. This also included all of the escape tunnels that would also lead back to the cave if you knew your way. The sound of rushing water grew closer as he started to step away from the road. He walked into a small clearing with a large waterfall.

Seph took off his clothes and stuffed them into a large zip lock bag to keep them from getting wet. He tied the bag around his back with his belt and dove into the water towards the falls.  He swam under the current and held himself up against the stone wall behind the falls looking up and take a breath before getting a firm hold and climbing up. Bruce and Alfred always considered this tunnel specifically as an exit only situation.

He could feel the current weighing him down with every push making his way up to a small opening towards the very top. The hole was only big enough to fit his torso as he pulled himself up and went in feet first. The stone around him was smooth enough to slide down a couple of feet until he finally touched ground. He closed his eyes feeling out the walls until he found he could slide down a slim crack that lead to a tunnel he could crawl into.

The air was limited in the dark cave, but Seph had been trained to keep his breathing slow while going through here. Alfred made it a point for them to remember that this path would be difficult for anyone who did not know about the lack of air and vision. The limited oxygen made it so a torch would not light and if a flare was used it would burn the remaining oxygen and choke the victim. Memorizing the path was key to using this as an escape route, but this time Seph was using it as an entrance into the bat cave.

For half an hour, he crawled slowly and controlling his breathing while fighting back the pain in his muscles from the lack of oxygen. He could see a light at the end of the tunnel and could feel the oxygen increase as he got closer to it. As he dropped down onto a rock he looked down to see the Batcave in the distance and bright as ever. Seph changed back into his jeans and black shirt with the silver S across the chest. He put on his Nightwing mask and pulled up the hoodie from his white vest.

As he made his way to the main platform he could hear that someone was already up there, but he had a feeling he was already being watched. He climbed the railings up and jumped onto the open letting his eyes adjust to the light again. “Who are you?” Came the voice of a young male in a red robin costume holding a staff and aiming at him. Seph had a grin on his face as he placed his hands in his pockets and put one foot back. “I’m no one of importance” He said.

“How did you get in here?” Robin asked stepping forward, but Seph did not move. He stayed quiet as he started a hoping motion getting himself ready as he could feel the tension grow. The young Robin was nervous and Seph could not help but want to test him.

At the stranger’s lack of response Robin dove in striking down towards him. Seph took a step back letting the polearm miss by a few inches. Seph stepped up raising his knee only to be blocked by the other side of the staff. “Not bad” He said as he stepped down making sure his leg was inside Robin’s guard. He struck out with both hands hitting two points on the chest sending pain down the young man’s arms.

‘this is too easy’ Seph thought somewhat alarmed as the realization hit him. He side stepped to one side rolling as a sudden wave hit the ground followed by a controlled screeching. Robin had been leading him on from the start. “Very clever” He said looking up at a young girl with a familiar bat like suit with fur behind the head and around the neck. Nycteri took a deep breath and let out another wave of her scream this time in a wider angle. She had gotten a lot more precise as Seph barely dodged, but as he did Robin came down once again.

 “ok so it is about time to stop underestimating you guys” Seph said as he suddenly dove into Robin at a much faster pace. The first punch to the stomach followed by a raised knee to the head as his free hand grabbed the staff and pulling it up. The impact much heavier causing Robin to lose his grip. He spun with the momentum landing a roundhouse on Robin’s side while launching the staff at Nycteri. She jumped back and down, but mid drop was met with Seph launching at her and landing a hard palm onto her stomach knocking her away and into the batmobile.

Seph landed with a grin and spun around quickly as he sensed a new presense. He brought his hand up into a punch. His eyes going wide as he saw the ever famous cowl of the dark knight “oh shi-“

Seph opened his eyes dazed and confused as he felt the softness of a bed under him. He sat up placing a hand on his head groaning a bit. He looked around taking in his surroundings and realizing this was his old room in the Wayne manor. “You should know better than to throw a punch at Batman of all people Seph” Came Alfred’s voice who was sitting on a chair close to the bed. “Did I at least hit him?” Seph asked.

Alfred shook his head “I’m afraid you still have a lot to learn, but regardless of that you were missed and we are happy to see you return”

“We?”

“yes..We. Master Bruce has asked to see you as soon as you woke up. He is in his study waiting for you” Alfred answered standing up and extending his hand to the near table where new chlothes had been laid out.

“Am I in trouble?” Seph asked.