The Next Generation

Neal just stared in stunned confusion as Starfire revealed that Deathstroke was released of all things. "Did they lose their minds!?" he asked in outrage. "That's.......that's madness, we all should have seen something like this happening," he insisted as he stared right at Kory. "Didn't the Justice League or the Titans keep an eye on him, surely they must have known that something was going on?" Neal questioned.

Neal just put his face in to his hands and shook his head. "This wasn't what was meant to happen," Neal said weakly. He glanced up as Blade left, having his gaze stay on her for some time. He just shook his head and looked down at the ground. "None of this was supposed to happen," he repeated to himself before looking back at the tent flap that Blade had left through.

"She hates me you know, I think that she truly wishes that I was still dead," Neal said as he felt the emotions coming. It was like his entire world was gone right now. "She told me that she grew up in Hell, what did she mean by that Kory?" he asked as he looked up at Starfire. "What happened to her?"

---

After some time, Neal and Kory had talked about the situation in the world and Slade being president. The entire time though Neal had only one thought on his mind. "Listen, whatever you guys need me to do you know I'm in for the good fight. But Kory, would you mind telling me which tent is Blade's? I just.......I need to talk to her, even if it doesn't do any good"

Starfire lowered her gaze at Neal's question. "These past years you've been gone have been... difficult," she explained. "Constantly on the move, constantly fighting, having what little hope you possess constantly dashed and ripped away just when you think things are going to turn around. She's been forced to fight and see people she cares about die ever since she was eight years old, Neal. Same with Lori, same with Garth... it's been hard on all of us. This hasn't exactly been the best place to raise a child. There were times I contemplated taking Lori and leaving Earth, finding a new place to raise her... but I couldn't leave my friends. I couldn't just run away and not do anything... so this is the life we've had to live. It has not been easy."

After their discussion, Neal finally got up and ready to leave, wanting to talk to his daughter. She could understand that. Lillian needed a father right now, Starfire liked to think... Even if she didn't know it. "Her tent is near the east end of the camp. Number B7, the one with red flaps. I hope things go well with her, I really do."

---

Meanwhile, back in Blade's tent, she lay calmly in her hammock, swinging slowly back and forth. Sunfire was there too, wrapped in her arms. Blade rested her chin against the top of the Tamaranean's head, while holding her close to her. It was one of the few moments of downtime that either of them had, one of the few brief moments they could be alone and happy together.

"You know it isn't his fault," Sunfire said, pushing back against her. "He just wants to set things right, now that he finally has the chance."

Blade let out a long breath. "I know... but it doesn't change anything. I still don't know anything about him, and it's too late now for him to be involved in my life. Hell, he's barely even older than I am... you have any idea how creepy that is?"

"Well... yes, okay," Sunfire said, nodded a little. "I will admit, that is a bit... creepy."

Neal listened as Starfire gave Neal a small glimpse at the world that Blade had to call home. He couldn't even imagine what that life must have been like. Watching people die was hard for Neal, he could only imagine what that must have done to someone as young as Blade. Damn it! What had happened to Rose? Why would she just leave their daughter and not do anything to help her? What had happened........where was she?

As Starfire shared the information about where Blade's tent was Neal gave an appreciative nod despite the fact that he looked rather upset. "Thanks Kory," he said before leaning in and holding her tightly against him for several moments. "You've always been a good friend to me Kory, I can't thank you enough for whatever you did to help watch out for my daughter. I can never repay you for what you've done," he whispered before finally letting go and turning to head out the tent. Just before he left though, Neal glanced back.

"Lori....Sunfire, is very beautiful. She looks just like her parents," Neal said before finally getting up and heading out.

Neal made his way in the direction that Starfire had indicated, only stopping to ask for directions a few times. He still didn't fully know his way around the area considering that he had only just gotten there. Eventually though he saw the tent in question and approached it. He stopped outside of the tent and took a deep breath, trying to decide how best to approach.

He opened the flap of the tent a very tiny amount. "Blade.............can I come in?"

The moment that the flap began to open and Neal made his voice known, Blade lurched with a startled breath, quickly reaching for the blanket next to the hammock. "Son of a-! Hold on!" she yelled, pulling the large quilt over herself and Sunfire. Their clothes were currently on the other side of the tent. Once they were both covered up to their necks under the blanket, she grumbled and glared over at the flaps. "Uh huh... sure, whatever."

Sunfire glanced back at her and gave a stern look. It was a look that said, or rather commanded, 'be nice'. Apparently, she was the one person who could control or tame the wild one that was Blade.

"I mean... yeah, come on in," Blade corrected, glancing back at Sunfire, who nodded approvingly. "What do you want?"

Neal's eyes narrowed curiously as he heard a lot of movement going on inside the tent. Perhaps he had come at a bad time or something? He was half debating about leaving and coming back another time before he made her upset. However, it was only a moment later that Blade said that he could come in and asked about what he wanted.

"Alright you can do this Neal, just stay strong," he said before moving in and entering the tent. "Hey I was just wondering if we could talk or something," Neal said before looking around the tent to see that Blade and Sunfire were both under a blanket together. Well that was interesting, and it only made Neal stare for a moment.

"Am I.........interrupting?" Neal asked curiously. "If you two need your rest we can, do this later......I guess"

"No, not interrupting anything..." Blade said, glancing off to the side. They had actually just finished up and were in the middle of the after effects, so there was nothing to interrupt. "We were just... relaxing..." She fidgeted a little beneath the blanket, moving into a more comfortable position. Sunfire moved with her, readjusting how she was lying against her partner. When they were finally more comfortable, she continued.

"I guess we can talk if you really want..." she muttered, holding her hands tighter around Sunfire's waist. It was like a security blanket or something being able to hold someone so special to her while about to go through something she really didn't want to. "But anything you say, you can say in front of Lori, too. She's not leaving."

Neal couldn't help but just stare as the two girls moved together in the blanket. This all seemed very familiar to Neal, and he was already able to place his finger on it. They were together in bed, and Neal couldn't help but notice the signs. It was just like when Kory and Sarah had first gotten together.

"I just wanted to talk, I never said that she had to leave," Neal said before looking around and taking a seat in a nearby chair. "I just wanted to talk, maybe get to know a bit about each other is all," Neal said as he glanced from Blade to Sunfire.

"So are you two like a couple?"

"Well... good," Blade muttered, as Neal said he didn't actually want Sunfire to leave. If he did, she would have just told him to go stuff it. He was the one coming into her tent wanting to talk, not the other way around. Her tent, her rules. She couldn't help but let out a quiet groan when he mentioned his reason for being there, though. Great, so he wanted them to get to know each other. So what, was this supposed to be some sort of weird bonding experience then? They'd swap stories and information about themselves and suddenly they'd be best friends? What a load of crap...

It was only for Sunfire's sake that she didn't tell Neal to go take a hike, instead remaining there in the hammock with her arms around the Tamaranean. She gave Neal an odd look, though, when he asked her if they were a couple. What kind of first question was that? Out of all the things he could have asked her first, he wanted to know about her love life? Christ, this guy was weird. "Yeah, we are," she replied firmly, glaring at him. "Why, you got a problem with that? Didn't see anything like this back in your time? Gee, I sure hope it doesn't offend you."

Neal had a feeling that none of this was going to go well, the tone in Blade's voice hinted to the fact that she wasn't really going to fully invest in this conversation. She just wanted him gone, and for some reason she was apparently just going to humor him today. He had no idea why she would when she could have just told him to leave, but for whatever reason she felt like giving him a chance. Neal had to take advantage of that before she changed her mind and tried to kick him out.

As Blade gave her quick and rude response, Neal only stared at her for a moment. So his daughter was in a relationship with Kory's daughter. Interesting, it really was like Sarah and Kory all over again. Neal was silent until Blade accused him of having a problem with it. Neal just slowly shook his head. "I'd appreciate it if you could not assume the worst of me every chance that you get," Neal said as he glanced down at the ground. Before Blade could add anything else, Neal continued speaking although he didn't look up at the two of them. "Two of my best friends were a lesbian couple, and they were two of the greatest heroes that I had ever seen. The best thing about them though was how much they truly loved one another," he added before lifting his gaze to look at the two girls.

"One day though, one of them gave their life in order for the rest of the team to survive. We didn't ask her to do it, and as much as we tried to convince her to come with us she refused because she knew we would all die if we tried to flee," Neal said as he thought back to that day on Oa. "Her name was Sarah Sanders, she was one of my best friends and I miss her every day," Neal said as he looked towards Lori this time as the words came from his mouth. "So to answer your question no, I have no problem with it. If you two care about each other, that's all that I will ever need"

Blade tried to think of some witty or biting retort, but for the life of her, nothing came to mind. Maybe it was the fact that he was talking about Sunfire's parents, including the one she hadn't grown up with, the one that they'd only heard stories about from the other Titans. From what they had gathered, Sarah had been the true embodiment of a hero, and a wonderful person, just as Neal said. She was actually a little surprised, too, to hear that Neal had absolutely no problem with it... though she wasn't sure if it was true surprise over his opinion, or just the fact that she had so quickly been proven wrong.

"Right... yeah... well okay," Blade said, glancing off to the side. She held Sunfire closer releasing a tired breath. She'd never met her Aunt Sarah, but just growing up with Aunt Kory, she had a pretty good idea of just how special she must have been. "So maybe you don't have a problem with us. Good. Because if you did, you'd be flat on your ass outside my tent by now."

A brief moment of silence passed between them. Sunfire nuzzled back against Blade and took in a calm breath. "Lilly and I have been together for many years now... since we were younger. We have been through a lot together, and in these difficult times, our friendship was a large part of what kept us going... I think I was lucky to have her there for me."

Blade lowered her gaze, her expression softening. "No, I'm the lucky one..." she breathed, quietly.

Neal meant every word that he had said about Sarah, as he truly had nothing but the highest opinion of her. Even now her example was something that Neal was still trying to learn and fully pick up. Neal always felt weak compared to her, she was strong, intelligent, willing to sacrifice anything in order to save others. She never made any large mistakes like Neal had, he always looked to her as the better hero. Her loss had been one of the hardest days of Neal's life, if not the hardest.

Neal couldn't help but hold the frown on his face. Due to his advanced learning ability he had basically a photographic memory. He could recall the expressions on everyone's face when Sarah told them to leave so she could stay and save all of them. It wasn't much, but Neal had given her the only gift that he could at the time. He tried to help her think that she wasn't alone. Along with that, it seemed like despite his true feelings Blade still wanted some sort of reason to kick his ass.

"Kory told me that you two had been through a lot together, it only makes sense that it would bring you closer together," Neal said as he glanced away for a moment. At that time, he couldn't help but think about Rose and where she might be. Rose had also been through hard times and struggled, and when Neal was there for her they formed a love that was so strong. They married, and they vowed to always be there for one another. Neal reached up and wiped away a single tear that was starting to form in his eye.

He wanted to tell Blade how much like her mother she really was, but Neal had a feeling that it would only lead to a fight with the girl.

"Uh huh, suppose so," Blade responded, moving her gaze off to the side and sighing. So had he really just come here to talk to her about her love life? Because he wasn't coming up with anymore questions or another subject to move on to. Now, there was a very uncomfortable and awkward silence hanging in the air, as no one said anything for a few moments. When she looked back at him, he noticed the tear that he wiped away and lifted an eyebrow. "What, did I miss something? Does that move you or something...? What's with the water works?"

"Lilly, please," Sunfire said, looking up at her partner. "This must be very hard on him... waking up in this world and seeing things so... different."

Blade sighed, grumbling a little to herself. "Maybe. Not like he's the only one who has it rough, though. He didn't have to live through it all."

Neal ignored the question that Blade threw towards him, he had a feeling that if he told her what was really on her mind she would only use it as more ammunition against him. He felt it best to just move on to a different subject. God he hated his ability sometimes, he only had to think of one unpleasant memory for every detail to come spilling back in to his mind. He heard Blade and Sunfire speak, but he didn't address it at all.

"So tell me, do you have precognition? Do you see attacks coming towards you before they happen?" he asked as he looked over at Blade again.

Blade gave Neal a curious look, wondering why he had asked the question. What about precognition or something? Some kind of ability she was supposed to have? Why would he ask that? "Uh, no... or, well, it depends what you mean by 'see attacks before they happen.' I mean... I know what my opponents do before they do it, but I don't see it. Wouldn't call it precog... whatever." A brief moment of silence, before realizing she just probably confused the hell out of him. So, she reached up from under the blanket and tapped her head. "Telepathy. I read their thoughts, so I know what they're about to do before they act. Comes in handy."

As Blade gave her answer, saying that it wasn't quite the same thing that she had, Neal had to admit that he was a bit surprised. Given how much she looked like Rose he had been so certain that Blade would have had her powers. In a sense he supposed that he could see why she might have gained that ability. "Fascinating," Neal admitted as he listened to her speak of telepathy. "You have a combination of both my own and Rose's powers," Neal said as he looked towards the girl. "She could see things before they happen, and my own abilities focus on mental invasion of the opponent's mind..........sounds like you got a combination of the two"

"Yeah, well, I know, most people are impressed," Blade said, with another shrug and a smirk. It was always nice when someone found her abilities 'fascinating'... even if it was Neal. "I got her physical power, too. I top out at about fifty miles per hour in a dead sprint, though thirty is my jogging speed. I can track a bullet in mid flight, and I bench six hundred pounds. Totally awesome, right? Of course that's nothing compared to Sunfire here..."

"Well... I do not like to brag," Sunfire said, with a small giggle. "But I can lift up to fifty tons... not nearly as much as my mother, but I'm still growing."

Neal just continued to listen as Rose recounted everything that she was capable of. It almost sounded like a job interview, when in actuality it was more like bragging. She really was her mother's daughter wasn't she? "Yeah that definitely sounds like the list that your mother was capable of producing," Neal said with a small smile as he remembered how impressed he was with Rose's strengths and abilities the first time that they had met.

"Yeah, you Tamaraneans were always stronger than the rest of us. I remember the first time that I met your mother, scared the hell out of me considering that I didn't have my powers at the time," Neal said with a laugh.

"Out of curiosity, how fast are you at learning new things?" Neal asked as he glanced back over at Blade.

"Um... about normal, I guess?" Blade said, giving him a funny look. Why would how fast she learned things have any importance? "I mean, I was always a quick study, I suppose... but really nothing special. Why do you ask?" After a couple moments, she shifted in the hammock again. She was starting to get a little uncomfortable; her leg was starting to fall asleep. "Uh, and do you mind like... turning around and covering your eyes or... something? I kind of feel like getting dressed... Lori, too, I'm sure."

Sunfire blinked, shifting as well in her seat. "Well, yes, I suppose I could go for getting dressed again... it is getting chilly."

"I only ask because of my own ability. Since my powers enhance my mind I've always been an extremely quick study. I can learn in days what others take months to learn. It's why I'm such a good fighter, I was once trained by several members of the League of Assassins," Neal said. "So I couldn't help but wonder if you had the same ability," he said before hearing Blade's request for him to turn around for several moments.

"Oh yes of course," Neal said before walking to the other end of the tent and had his back facing them. He also closed his eyes. "Just let me know when you're done"

"Wait, wait, wait," Blade said, as she and Sunfire got up to get dressed again. "You trained with the League of Assassins? You mean, like, the secret society that's been plotting to wipe the world out and build it back up their own way? I never heard anything about that." She actually sounded pretty impressed by it... the League of Assassins was notorious for training some of the best fighters the world had ever seen. "So, then you must be pretty good, huh...? Wonder how much..."

Sunfire watched the two curiously, pulling her dress back on over herself. They were both fully clothed within just a couple of minutes. "You may turn around now," she said, sitting down on a nearby chair. She was smiling; what Neal had just said about the League of Assassins seemed to put Blade in a better mood.

"Oh yeah, I was with them for close to a month," Neal said as he kept facing the wall and he recalled his training. "I was trained in the art of hand to hand combat by Lady Shiva, one of the greatest assassins in the world. Along with her I was personally trained with weapons and fighting multiple opponents at once with Talia Al-guhl" Neal said with a small smile as he could hear the impressed tone that Blade took on. Neal had to admit it wasn't one of his better moments, but they had taught him a great deal that he still used to this very day.

Neal turned around when Sunfire said that they had finished getting dressed. "Well, if you want to see how good I am you're going to have to wait to see me in action. That or you'll have to fight me yourself that is," Neal pointed out. He couldn't help but wonder just how strong his own daughter was.

"I've heard those names before," Blade said, tightening the straps around her arms and making sure that her armor was securely in place. "Some of the best martial artists in the world... I bet they taught you things that I could never learn around here." She had a small gleam in her eye; Sunfire knew that gleam. It was one of eagerness, of intrigue, and excitement. "Show me." Well, he wanted to spend quality time with his daughter, right? This was better than nothing, teaching her secret techniques and styles of the League of Assassins... and she actually wouldn't be verbally assaulting him the whole time. Well, not as much anyway.

"Oh yes, they were some of the greatest fighters that I have ever seen," Neal admitted as he thought back to Shiva and Talia. "We ended up disagreeing with how the world should be run, but they were still good people," Neal admitted as he thought back to his days of when he was training with the League. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly happened to those two. Ah well, odds are he wouldn't with everything that was going on.

As Blade asked for him to show her some moves he couldn't help but be surprised. However, a small smile came on to his face. "Very well, I can do that. What exactly do you want to work on? Your swordsmanship or your hand to hand training? I'll teach you anything and everything that I know"

"Everything you got," Blade said quickly. She blinked, realizing she might have sounded a little too eager right there. "I mean, sorry, whatever you can. I just... I'm always looking to be stronger. There were times, you know, where I might have been able to save some people if I had been... stronger. So the more I can learn, the better. And, I mean, learning from military instructors, and guys like Nightwing, or Batman, they're all well and good... I mean, they're great, some of the best even, but they're not the best, you know? That's what I want to be... the best. And if you've learned from the the top guys in the League of Assassins... you must know a lot that I don't."

Neal couldn't help but let out a small laugh as Blade quickly showed her eagerness to learn how to better fight and learn techniques from Neal. At first he found it funny, but when she revealed her reason Neal made sure to stop the laughter. It wasn't funny what she said, and Neal knew that she hadn't gone through easy times while he was gone. "Believe me when I say I know how that feels. My first mission as a Titan and we were fighting a sorcerer that killed hundreds of people. Despite being a hero, I had never felt so powerless before," Neal admitted.

He looked at Rose fully. "I'll do everything that I can to help you get stronger, with your telepathy I'm sure that what I teach you will be put to good use," he said with a small smile. "I'll teach you everything I know", he said happily. Perhaps it would be a way to start earning some forgiveness from Blade. Along with that, if Neal could teach her something that would save her life he would do it in a heart beat.