The Next Generation

Neal watched as Nightwing's jax attack seemed to do the trick. It seemed like Doomsday really couldn't make sense of any direction, that was good for now. Still, much like Neal's illusions his head and body would grow immune to whatever chemical compound was in it. They had to take advantage of it while they could. Neal could only watched as the Lanterns continued their onslaught. It was quite effective, but it was only going to do so much for so long. They had succeeded in breaking off a part of his spine, Neal had to admit that was impressive.

Before he knew it though, he suddenly heard Batman shouting out his name. He turned before hearing what he was saying. The spine? Neal quickly looked at the object again before the idea finally clicked. Of course, Doomsday was used to becoming immune to everyone else but none of it guaranteed protection against something that was his own creation. Batman really was brilliant like that. "I'm on it!" Neal shouted before running forward and quickly picking up the spine as Batman instructed.

Batman had taken it upon himself to distract the creature, trying to lure him away so that Neal could move in for the kill. If this didn't work, Neal had no idea what they were going to do in order to solve this. Anyone watching would see Fade sprinting as fast as he could, hoping to build up as much momentum as he could in order to attack Doomsday. Fade had been granted a piece of Doomsday, but he'd still have to hit it hard enough to actually pierce and wound Doomsday.

Fade kept moving, not slowing no matter what came in front of him. As he moved he saw Doomsday being blocked by the Green Lanterns. Now was his change. With every single bit of strength that Fade had, he ran forward and quickly shot the spine forward, aiming to pierce Doomsday straight through. If this didn't work.....there would be very little chance of Neal surviving Doomsday counter. It was their only hope though.

Just before Doomsday pounced upon Batman, the Lanterns shackled him with cuffs and chains, forcing him to a sudden stop. His arms and legs were seized, preventing him from countering, but they were struggling to hold him in place. Though their rings were powerful, so was Doomsday's strength. They would not be able to hold him for long. Fortunately, they wouldn't need to. Before Doomsday could get a chance to break free, Neal came at him from behind with the spine. The sharpened spike struck flesh and ripped into it like butter, piercing his neck and coming out the other side.

The sound that gurgled out from Doomsday's throat could only be described as sickening. And yet at the same time, it was all too satisfying. The monster lurched forward, eyes wide with agony as he twitched and flopped against the ground. He pulled his arms forward, trying desperately to claw at the spine and pull it from his body, but the Lanterns held firm. They did not let him break free, not this time. Within seconds, Doomsday's struggling grew weaker and weaker, until the sounds that emerged from his mouth were nothing more than hoarse whispers. Before long, everything was silent. Doomsday didn't move, his eyes still open in a dead stare. There was no doubt this time. As with Superman, he would not be getting up this time.

"It's over," Batman said, walking over and inspecting Doomsday carefully. "For now."

"What should we do with him?" Hawkgirl asked, lowering her mace. "He will only revive again, eventually."

Flash rubbed his chin, remembering something from a long time ago, a mere joke between him and one of the former Green Lanterns. But right now, it seemed entirely appropriate. Holding up his arm high and waving it, he smirked. "I have a suggestion!"

---

Sarah and the other Lanterns returned ten minutes later. It was amazing how far they could travel in such a short amount of time. "It's been taken care of," she said, smiling slightly.

"Throwing him into the sun," Zatanna said, scratching her head. "Why didn't we think of that before?"

Flash was at her side in an instant, leaning against her with an arm around her shoulders. "Don't sweat it, we can't all have my brains. Or my good looks."

The spine had torn through Doomsday's skin more easily then Neal expected it to. He had put all of his force into it, and the spine was probably one of the strongest materials that Neal had ever held his hands on. As Doomsday lashed out from the pain, Neal backed away to avoid having his head taken off from some accidental side blow. HE didn't move far though, as he couldn't help but stare at the creature as it was taking what would be some of its last breaths. Neal kept watching, right up until he stopped moving and died....for the moment at least. Neal let out a soft breath. "Wish I had a sword made out of that stuff," he said to himself with a small and weak laugh.

As the others moved in and decided to eventually throw him into the Sun, Neal merely collapsed to his knees as everything felt like it was coming back to him. Doomsday, by far the strongest opponent that they had ever faced. Neal rubbed his head slowly, still hardly believing that Superman had been killed. If only the Lanterns had gotten here a little sooner, than they wouldn't have lost him. Still, it was done and Neal pushed himself to his feet. He took a soft breath before moving over back to the other Titans.

He walked over to Raven and looked at her curiously for a moment. "Raven.........is it wrong that I took joy out of that kill?" Neal asked in a low voice. He was remembering the last time that he had killed a man, and the concern that Raven had because of his empathy and general lack of remorse for what he had done.

Raven bowed her head for a moment before looking back at Neal. Her gaze then slowly moved over to the fallen Superman, who had since been covered by his cape. Wonder Woman was already at his side, preparing to move the body. It was a sad image. She knew that Superman and the original Wonder Woman, Diana, had been very close, and that her death had caused much grief for the Man of Steel. But when Donna took over the role, she helped Superman through that grief... and they, too, became close. This time, it seemed that fate had decided to play the reverse. Now, it was Wonder Woman experiencing the pain of loss.

"No, Neal," she said quietly, still watching as Wonder Woman lifted Superman's body into her arms. "I think... we all took some enjoyment out of it, even if only a little. What matters is that we do not dwell on it. Though we are glad to be rid of the threat, we did it because we had to, not because we like to kill. The enjoyment comes from knowing we have avenged one of our own, and stopped a monster from killing countless more, not from the actual act itself."

Neal listened to Raven's words, thinking about how she had decided to phrase it. This time, they all took a little enjoyment out of the kill. It was important that Neal not dwell on it though. "I....am honored that I was able to avenge someone as good as him. I just wish that it didn't have to happen at all, he didn't deserve that. None of us do," Neal said to himself as he looked at Superman and Wonder Woman. It was a depressing image, one that Neal would probably never be able to forget.

He turned back towards the rest of the Titans. "I don't know about the rest of you....but I could use a bit of cheering up right now," he said as he glanced over towards Starfire and Sarah who were still with the other Lanterns. "Anyone else wanna welcome back some old friends?"

"I'm with you on that one," Beast Boy said, taking in a deep breath. He was still trying to get over the fact that, though they were victorious, it had come at the cost of one of the best.

Nightwing nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

The former Titans only had to look towards their old friends before catching the attention of the two. Once their gazes met, Starfire came flying over to hem and pulled them all into a firm hug.

"Friends!" she declared, excitedly. "It is so good to see you!"

Sarah walked over in a much more calm manner, but the happiness she felt in seeing her friends again was still evident on her face. "It's been ages," she said, joining in on the group hug. "We have so many stories to tell you."

"Oh!" Starfire declared, suddenly breaking away from the group hug with a look of remembrance on her face. "That reminds me. Sarah- should we tell them now?"

"I... think so," Sarah remarked with a small shrug. She was smirking knowingly, even though the others would probably be quite confused and curious right now. "You go ahead."

Nightwing lifted an eyebrow at them. "What is it? What's going on?"

Starfire giggled and clapped her hands together, then turned back to the other Titans. "Friends... Sarah and I," she explained, pulling Sarah in close with one arm, "are married!"

It was at that moment that Beast Boy fainted.

As they joined back up with Starfire and Sarah, Neal joined in the group hug although he wasn't as enthusiastic about it as the rest of them were. Starfire and Sarah still had no idea what had happened while they were gone, and Neal felt like they deserved to know about what had happened in their absence.....even if it meant damaging their friendship. After all, there was no way that they could just hide it from them. Surely they'd have to hear about Neal killed a guy and things would only spiral from there.

Neal would cross that bridge when they came to it though.

As Starfire revealed the big news, Neal turned and watched as Beast Boy fainted. Neal was in too much shock as well to catch him, so he merely turned back to the happy couple. "That's wonderful you two" he said with a small smile. At least something good was happening right now, they could all take joy in that. "How long has it been since you two got married? When did you decide to do it?"

"We got married last month," Sarah said, folding her arms casually. "On Oa, the base planet for the Green Lanterns."

"Oh, it was most marvelous," Starfire sighed, looking off dreamily as she recalled the event. "We had such a beautiful wedding, and all our Lantern friends were there. Everyone was so happy for us..."

Sarah smirked, bumping her elbow into Starfire's side to get her to come back to reality. "Kori here was actually the one that asked me, I think three months ago or so. It was shortly after we'd left and quelled an uprising in sector 435. A spur of the moment kind of thing."

"And she said yes!" Starfire exclaimed. "We made the arrangements most urgently."

"We were also considering having a second wedding here on Earth," Sarah added. "So you all could attend. After all, it might have been a beautiful wedding, but it just wasn't the same without you guys there."

Fade listened and gave a nod slowly, smiling as he heard about how happy Starfire and Sarah were. They decided that they were so far in love that they wanted to spend forever with one another, and that was something that Neal could respect. He was happy for them, and he wished that he was in a better mood to show it. They deserved it after all, having been gone six months in defense of the galaxy.

"Well, I'm glad that you just returned to us safely personally" Neal said with a smile. "It'll be good to have you two back on the team for however long you're able to stay with us"

Nightwing couldn't help but smile back at the happy couple. "Congratulations you two. That's great news, really."

Raven just looked back and forth between them for a moment, before focusing on Sarah. After a moment, she said, "...you were straight when we first met, weren't you?"

"Er..." Sarah started, clearing her throat and shifting her weight. "...yup."

"I thought so," Raven said. "Starfire... has that effect."

And with that remark, the horrific events of that day ended with something they didn't think they'd be enjoying: laughter.

---

It was several days later now. The Titans, as well as the entire Justice League, and numerous other affiliated heroes had gathered at the Metropolis cemetery, where a private funeral was being held for Superman, the greatest of them all. A small monument had been erected on top of the hill where his body was to be buried, marking the site. The atmosphere was quiet an solemn, everyone attending the event with a heavy heart. The ones affected most strongly by this untimely passing had to be those closest to him, those being Wonder Woman, his lover, and Power Girl and Supergirl, his cousins.

Though Power Girl was technically the cousin of a different universe's version of Superman, with the extermination of her universe, along with so many others, she had come to regard this Earth's Superman as her actual cousin, her family. His death affected her as strongly as her real cousin's death did. The news did not come easy when she had found out, upon everyone's return, and she knew it would take quite some time to work through it.

When the funeral service had finally ended, and all the heroes began to depart, Power Girl walked slowly along with Neal beside her. "You know..." she started, holding his hand. "The Justice League is a person short now. They offered me a position. Well, really I asked them for the position and they agreed... if Superman is gone, then someone has to fill his shoes, right? I... want to honor him that way, make him proud. But... it means I wouldn't be able to stick around with the Titans."

Neal stood with the other Titans, participating in the ceremony in whatever way they were asked to; even if that meant just standing by and showing whatever level of respect that they could. Neal had only met Superman twice, but his stories did him no justice compared to meeting him in real life. He was strong, he was kind, and he was everything that humanity should strive to be. Upon the ending of the ceremony, Neal vowed that he'd try to be more like Superman everyday.

As the ceremony ended, Neal was walking hand in hand with Power Girl. As she began to speak, he already had a feeling that he knew where it was going to lead to. Sure enough, she was asked to join the actual Justice League in order to replace the loss of Superman. Neal had to admit that he was quite torn by it. "I had a feeling that they might want you up there" Neal remarked before turning and looking towards Power Girl. "In what time I've had to know you, I've learned that you're a strong, dedicated, and valiant woman that is going to do wonders for the Justice League" Neal began. "I'm going to miss you, but if this is what you need to do than you'll always have my support. I can promise you that," he said with a small smile.

Neal didn't know what else to say, so he merely leaned in and gave a soft hug towards Power Girl. Neal was sad, but she had actually lost family. He had no idea how she was feeling, and he could only hope that joining the Justice League would help her to feel better.

Power Girl smiled slightly as Neal hugged her, returning it in kind. "Thanks, Neal," she replied. "That means a lot." She was quiet for another moment, then took a step back, a hand on his shoulder. "But you won't miss me too much... I'm sure you'll find some way to keep yourself occupied." She winked at him, then glanced over to where the other Titans were paying their respects. She was looking at Raven.

"You're close with her," she said, stating it as a fact, not a question. She was smiling, though. "I know, I heard you both that night, after we... well you know. Super hearing and all that. And while I will always like you, Neal, we don't quite have the same connection that you have with her. Sure, we get along great... in a lot of ways." She gave him another wink. "But to be quite honest, she's the one who really deserves you. I'm just the hot chick that came in at the right time. I can tell, she'd do anything for you, and you her. Am I wrong?"

Neal held the hug before Power Girl eventually pulled away, saying that he would be able to find a way to keep himself occupied. He looked at her curiously for a moment, honestly not having any idea what she was referring to. It was only as she glanced away from him that Neal turned his head, seeing that she was gazing right at Raven.

As Power Girl continued to speak, Neal turned his face back to her and just stared for several minutes. "Oh, you heard that huh?" he asked in legitimate surprise. He knew that she had super senses, but he always figured that she had to activate them or something. Apparently that wasn't the case. As she continued speaking Neal glanced back at Raven one more time. "Yeah, I'd do anything for her. I can't lie about that" he admitted before looking back towards Power Girl. "Well.....no matter what I still hope you can consider me a good friend. I really do like you, but I think you're right when you say my heart belongs to someone else"

"We'll always be friends," Power Girl said, smiling at him. She leaned forward, planting a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Nothing will change that."

A moment later, they were joined by Atlee and Beast Boy. Atlee gave them a small wave, then walked up to Power Girl and hugged her tightly before finally stepping back. "So, turns out that crime is starting to go up around here ever since we left. Go figure, right?"

Power Girl lifted an eyebrow. "That right?"

"Mhm," Alee responded, with a slight chuckle. "So, I guess I'll be moving back here to deal with things. I know you'll be busy in the big time now, though."

"That's true, think you'll be able to handle everything here on your own?" Power Girl asked, smirking back at her best friend.

Beast Boy cleared his throat and gave a confident thumbs up at her. "I'm sure she can, but she won't have to in either case. I'll be going with her. Already go the okay from Nightwing."

"Oh, I see," Power Girl responded, with a surprised laugh. "You two...?"

Atlee shrugged. "What can I say? I got a thing for green."

Neal smiled after Power Girl placed the single kiss on his forehead. "Good, if you ever need support don't hesitate to call us. You weren't around for long, but you're still a Titan and much more than that" Neal said with a happy smile.

It was only moments later that they were joined by Atlee and Beast Boy, hearing about how both of them were going to stay in Metropolis in order to stop the rising crime that was taking place. Neal turned and looked at Beast Boy, a bit surprised by this sudden news. "You're leaving?" he asked even though Beast Boy had confirmed it himself like ten seconds ago. "Wow......Tower's gonna be pretty quiet without you man. I'll miss ya"

"Likewise, pal," Beast Boy said, giving Neal a firm handshake. "We've had some good times in that place, but everyone's gotta move on sometime." He then leaned in close to add, in a whisper, "By the way... you can send recorded security feeds to my communicator." Clearing his throat, he straightened himself and then gave the two a wave. "Anyway, we're off to see what we can do about a living situation. Later!"

When they were gone, Power Girl gave him an amused glance. "Recorded security feeds, huh?" She laughed, giving him a small pat on the back. "But anyway... I guess this is goodbye for now. I have to go get set up at the Watchtower and all that. I'll see you around."

As she started walking away, Raven approached, watching as Power Girl left. "Where's she off to?" she asked, not yet knowing about what had just transpired.

Neal returned the handshake, wanting to make sure Beast Boy knew that he was appreciated. "Hey man, I didn't say it enough....but thanks for being there for me, through everything" Neal said as he looked right at Beast Boy. "You were always able to make me laugh, even when I was at my lowest, and I wish you nothing but the best. I can't wait till we see each other again. Take care of yourself...and don't worry I'll send you stuff weekly" he added in a whisper before Beast Boy and Atlee took off.

As Power Girl asked about the feeds, Neal just gave a small shrug. "Some habits are hard to break that's all" he said with a small laugh before nodding. "Take care of yourself Power Girl, till next we meet"

Neal turned to look at Raven as she approached, asking about where Power Girl was going. "The Justice League asked her to take Superman's place now that he's gone, she's the perfect candidate for it after all" he said as he turned to look at her fully. "We just finished saying goodbye"

"Oh, I see," Raven responded, blinking a few times in surprise. She hadn't quite been expecting that, especially considering that she and Neal had been... involved. "But what about... you know. Long distance relationship?" A part of her knew the answer that was coming, but she didn't quite know what would come of it. With everything that had just happened, things seemed to be changing fast. Even Beast Boy was leaving, and he was someone that she thought would be there at that tower forever. Amazing that all this time, the one thing that could get him away from that security room was a girlfriend.

Neal was quiet for a moment as Raven asked her question. He looked at her again and simply shook his head. "No, we're always going to be friends but she helped me to realize that she's not the one that can make me the most happy" Neal said before scratching the back of his head. "Raven......I know that you might not be as happy with me as you'd like to be, but would you be willing to give me another chance to not screw things up between us?" he asked as he looked right at her. "I snapped at you last time, and I'm sorry. I won't let it happen again, because you're the one that I want to be with"

Raven just stared at him for the longest time, trying to process his words. She had felt that it was the answer that was coming, and yet she still had not prepared herself for how to react to it. She shifted her weight uneasily to the side, then rubbed one arm with her other hand, thinking. It was still something she wasn't used to, someone actually wanting to be with her, not just so they could say they went out with the mysterious, if somewhat creepy, girl, but because they truly liked her for who she was. Eventually, she looked up at him and smiled.

"Yes... I would like that," she responded. "Very much."

---

"A swimsuit calender?" Starfire said, in wonderment.

"That's right," Cyborg explained, now that everyone was back in the tower. "Part of Beast Boy's merchandising idea, but I guess since he's not here anymore, I'll have to take over planning the whole thing. What do you think?"

Starfire leaped up and clapped her hands together excitedly. "I think that is a most wonderful idea! What do you think, Sarah?"

Sarah leaned back against the couch, chin resting in her hand. How could she say no when her wife was so ecstatic about it? "I say, I'm in if you are."

"Then it is decided!" Starfire said, smiling. "We will do the swimsuit calender! Will you be participating, Raven?"

Raven stared back at the two of the indifferently, before finally letting out a single, calm cough. "Well... I guess if everyone else is..."

Neal just stared back at Raven for several moments, watching as she seemed to be struggling for quite some time about her decision. Was she still worried because of what happened with Deathstroke? Neal didn't know, but he would accept whatever answer that he gave her. It was only when she said yes that Neal gave a smile. "I won't let you down this time. I promise" he said before reaching forward and holding it firmly in his own.

---

Neal was sitting next to Raven as they were back at the tower. They were all talking again like it was old times, something that Neal couldn't be happier about. He held Raven's hands as he sat next to her, hearing the conversation that was taking place. So that calender was finally going to get done huh? Neal was perfectly happy with that, as he couldn't wait to see the results.

"Oh come on Raven, you bought your swimsuits like a week ago. Don't make it sound like you weren't considering doing it already" Neal said as he patted her shoulder jokingly. Neal was lucky enough to see them, and this was clearly going to be one hot calender.

"Well... I was... I mean..." Raven said, blinking as she tried to stumble out a sentence. She was rather flustered by that comment, and she very rarely ever got flustered. "Oh what's the difference... I'm doing it anyway, aren't I?"

Starfire flew over and took Raven's hands in her own, lifting her up from the couch. "Oh this will be so exciting! You are finally doing something fun with us!"

Raven yelped out slightly, as Starfire pulled her up from the couch. She hadn't been prepared for that. "Yeah, well... don't get used to it."

"Alright, so I'm going to have to hire a photographer," Cyborg said, marking a few things off on his checklist. "And create a shoot schedule. Then I'll have to find a place that can publish the photos onto the calenders... I got a lot of planning to do."

"Well, I'll leave that all to you," Nightwing said, standing up. "Let me know how things turn out. I'll be in the gym in the meantime."

Sarah then stood up and took Starfire's hand. "And... we'll be in our room. It's been a long few days."

"It most certainly has," Starfire said with a giggle, following her wife out of the lounge and back up to their bedroom for some fun time.

"I guess that leaves us," Raven said, glancing at Neal. "What do you want to do?"

Neal just smiled as Raven stammered over her next few words and made it apparent that Neal's words were accurate. As she finally admitted that he was right Neal just gave a laugh. "Relax Raven, I have to have a little fun with you," he pointed out before turning and listening to what everyone was going to be doing. Cyborg had some planning, Nightwing was gonna train, and Sarah and Starfire........the usual. That left just Neal and Raven alone.

He turned and looked at Raven curiously, wondering about what they should do now that everyone else was gone. "Well, we could always meditate. But we always do that, we should do something else now that we're together again you know?" Neal suggested as he looked towards Raven. He wasn't sure what she was thinking of, but he couldn't help but wonder. "I could take you out on a date around town, change into our civilian clothing..........but if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them"

"A date..." Raven muttered, scratching her head in thought. Though they had been together for a couple months before, they had never actually gone on an official date during that time. They'd just mostly kept their relationship around the tower. Now that they were back together, though, and their relationship was more public this time... she supposed that they would have to go out on a date some time, eventually. "Sure, a date sounds nice... but I don't really have any experience with... dates. What exactly do we do?"

Neal listened as Raven agreed that a date could sound nice, but than she asked about what exactly they did. Neal forgot that Raven wasn't really used to this kind of thing. She hadn't really been in a serious relationship like this before. "Well....a date can really be anything. It's just having fun with the person that you're with. So really we just need to figure out something to do that'll make us both happy," Neal said as he looked towards Raven. "A couple of classics are things like dinner, movie, going out for walks" he said to try to get Raven thinking. "I'll let you decide though, what would you like to do for our first official date?"