Kate and Barbara looked at each other the moment the words left Caius's mouth.
The look was small and quick. One of those silent exchanges people built from years of working together. Kate's chin tilted by half an inch. Barbara's eyes flicked to her. Kate gave the slightest nod. Then Barbara turned back to Caius.
The late Gotham light painted the sidewalk in bronze and shadow. The noise of traffic rolled in the distance. The gym door behind them opened and closed twice as regulars came and went, but none of them lingered.
Barbara drew in a steady breath and spoke.
"Caius," she said, voice softer now, "some of us are worried about you."
That statement almost made him laugh. Almost, but he kept his face still and his shoulders loose. He shifted his duffel bag slightly higher on one shoulder and said nothing. Barbara took that silence as permission to continue.
"You keep to yourself," she said. "And with your abilities, it's fine if you want to do nothing but live your life, but...."
That sentence alone irritated him more than it should have. Which caused his jaw to tighten at once.
He was fine to live his life. That was what she had just said like it was something available to him. Like he hadn't been on a leash for the last five years.
But he held it together and kept his composure.
Barbara went on, trying to keep her tone level. "Maybe you should go to Titans Tower and finish your training. Or talk to someone in the League about what happened. Even if it's not Dinah. Even if it's someone else. Just talk to someone, and don't shut us out."
Caius lifted a hand. He had, had enough.
"That's enough, Barbara."
His voice wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.
Barbara stopped mid-sentence. Kate's eyes narrowed slightly, not in aggression, but attention. Caius let the hand drop back to his side. His face stayed calm, but his amber eyes did not.
"You say I'm allowed to live my life," he said, "but after everything came out about Omni-Man, Invincible and the other Viltrumites in the universe, I haven't been able to live my life."
His gaze moved from Barbara to Kate and back again.
"I've found Batman spy tech around my house."
He said it with such controlled coldness that both women reacted. Barbara's eyes widened first. Real surprise. Then almost immediately came hurt and regret mixed together on her face from what he could tell.
Kate didn't show as much, but he saw the micro expressions in her face anyway.
Barbara spoke first. "Caius, I, Dick and I were against that."
Caius turned to Kate.
"What about you?"
Kate met his stare without trying to soften herself. "I thought it was necessary all things considered."
Caius didn't respond right away. He just looked at her for a long second, then sighed through his nose and turned his eyes back toward the street for a moment. When he spoke again, his tone stayed controlled, but there was iron in it now.
"It's been five years, Barbara. We're no longer friends." His eyes returned to her face. "It's okay to say you're afraid of me."
Barbara started to answer immediately, almost on instinct. "That's not...."
She stopped when Kate put a hand on her shoulder. Kate stepped half a pace forward and spoke for herself.
"She does have a right!" Kate asked. "Omni-Man and Mark killed several heroes, sidekicks, and hundreds of civilians. It was bloody. She has a right to fear for her life." Kate said in a reassuring tone so Barbra wouldn't feel guilty.
Barbara turned sharply. "Kate..."
But Caius cut in before she could get further. "That's enough."
Both women looked back at him. The calm was still there, but now it looked dangerous. Not because he was about to lash out. Because he had already finished feeling surprised by any of this years ago.
"Look at me," Caius said. "Clearly neither of you sees me as the little kid anymore."
He looked at Barbara first. "When I got my meta-gene powers, you were the first person I told. You let me go on patrol with you and Dick until I learned to fly properly."
Barbara's expression changed.
Memories moved through her face quickly, rooftops, late nights, laughter, Caius awkwardly learning angles and balance with tactile telekinesis while she and Dick shouted advice from nearby gargoyles or rooftops.
Then Caius looked at Kate. "And when I joined Marine JROTC, you helped get my drills skills sharp. You corrected my stance, my breathing, my bearing. You said discipline mattered because when fear hit, discipline was what stayed."
Kate's jaw shifted slightly.
He saw her remember too.
Early mornings. Sweat. Barked corrections. Her hand adjusting his shoulders. Her voice telling him to stop overthinking and move like he meant it.
Then Caius brought his eyes back to both of them. "And now both of you look at me like I'm a monster about to snap."
The street seemed quieter for a second. Or maybe that was just how it felt.
"So," Caius said, his voice cooling further, "since you're going to treat me like that, consider me snapped."
Kate moved first. Not a dramatic move. Just a small, deliberate step forward, one hand drifting into her jacket pocket.
Caius noticed immediately. His eyes flicked once to the pocket and then back to her face.
Maybe some kind of device, probably. Sonic trigger, something bat-designed and efficient. Five years ago, seeing that readiness in someone he trusted would have hurt him deeply.
But now? Now it just fit the pattern of what he expects.
Dark acceptance settled in his chest like a familiar stone.
Kate spoke carefully. "What are you trying to say Caius?"
Caius smiled but it was without an ounce of warmth. "Get rid of all the Batman and League tech in my house," he said, "or I go public with the identities of every active-duty heroes ."
Barbara recoiled like he had slapped her. "Caius, you can't do that. You'd be putting so many lives at risk...."
Kate cut in sharply, skepticism overriding everything else. "And how would you even know the identities of everyone anyway?"
For one split second, Caius almost answered honestly.
Because I read the comics and searched the internet in my old life. Because this world is still built from the same familiar bones, even if the continuity is twisted and cleaner, and more dangerous in different ways. Because most of you are still exactly who I think you are.
Instead he kept that inside.
"That's for me to know," he said. "Stop watching me and give me back my life." His amber eyes locked onto Barbara's again. "And if you want to sweeten the deal, tell me about my parents."
Barbara paused for a moment, then inhaled sharply, held it, and then said, "Fine."
Kate's head turned toward her so fast it almost snapped. "Bab's he's threatening us and our friends."
Barbara kept going anyway.
"Caius, we don't know what happened to your parents. Not really. Only the League does. And only certain members of the League." Her eyes stayed on him, steady now. "But I'll get Dick. And others who still trust you. People who can vouch for you. And we'll make Batman and the League tell us. and stop their current treatment of you."
Then she looked at Kate directly. "Right, Kate? It's only right Kate. How would you feel if it was you or me this was happening to for so long?"
Kate held her stare for a second, then sighed. The tension in her shoulders eased just enough to notice.
"You're right," she said. She looked back at Caius and, to her credit, there was no smugness left in her face now. Just tired honesty. "Look. I'm sorry. I'm being paranoid, and I shouldn't be with you of all people after what you've done and what you've been through."
Caius said nothing to that.
Kate continued, "I'll tell my batman to remove the surveillance equipment. And he'll listen to me, perks of being family." She said with a faint, dry smile touching her mouth.
Barbara stepped forward slightly placing her soft hand on his chest in a gentle way, regaining some of the courage she had looked like she lost the moment he called her out.
"You should come by the Belfry," she said. "We made some changes. It's nothing like the last time you saw it. I can introduce you to the new Robin."
Caius already knew about the upgrades to the Belfry's interior and its security upgrades. And he knew she meant Tim Drake as the new Robin. Which meant Damian is not to far behind from appearing. And the Red Hood (Jason Todd), considering Jason died not to long after Omni man's and Invincibles attack.
But he kept all this to himself and hid it well. "I'd like that," was all he said.
Barbara blinked once, maybe surprised that he hadn't rejected it outright. Then she asked, " Is your number still the same?"
"Yep. But you already knew that, but thanks for asking anyway."
Barbra's face was flushed from embarrassment. "Good. And I'll give a call to Wally and have him take care of the surveillance right now. Give it… two minutes. if you don't mind him being in your home."
Caius nodded once. " I trust him and you so it's okay."
He turned before either woman could say more and walked away from the gym entrance toward the open sidewalk, duffel bag over one shoulder, hoodie loose around his frame. Behind him, Barbara and Kate stayed where they were for a moment. He could feel their eyes on his back without having to look.
He didn't turn around. He kept walking and waved away.
Kate continued to look at Caius as he left. " Is this what you wanted Bab's?"
Barbra nodded. "It's a start." She looked at her phone as she began to call Wally West. " I want to make up with him before it's to late."
Kate eye's narrowed. "I hear you, so do I, I just don't know how." Kate said taking her hand out of her jacket pocket to show a folded picture. Kate, Barbra, Dick, Caius, Cat woman, Batman, and Paladin. All in a group picture.
Kate looked at it conflicted. " I was supposed to give him this a while back but, I will do it when I make things right."
Barbra nodded. "That's a good start, now let's go talk to Bruce and the others."
Downtown Gotham spread around Caius in the glow of the setting sun, and the city looked almost unreal if your brain was wired to remember older versions of it from the comics and video games.
It was so much cleaner and livelier. That was the first thing anyone from his old life would have noticed.
Cleaner streets. Less visible rot. Better-maintained buildings. Working streetlights. Fewer broken windows. Sidewalks and parks that didn't look forgotten. There were still the occasional rough neighborhoods, still dark corners, and still a lot of crime. Gotham would always have shadows because Gotham fed on its own contradictions. But this version of it? This version had been fought for.
By Bruce Wayne and his mother.
Their organizations and trusted people managed to safe this city and improve it one day at a time. While in other timelines of the comics. Bruce alone only managed to slow the bleeding.
The Wayne foundation by itself was more of a massive safety net, funding numerous free clinics, soup kitchens, hospitals, and medical research in Gotham. Which is really good, and no one can deny Bruce Wayne has always tried to help Gotham.
The Martha Wayne Foundation is routinely also helps with funding schools, after-school programs, and orphanages, focusing on providing education and support for disadvantaged youth.
Moms company Olympian Designs supports a lot of these programs on her own as well.
The Caius foundation. A foundation Samira named after him, which he still get's embarrassed about. This focuses on taking in and supporting orphans and at risk youths. It gives them homes and puts them through school all the way through college, and even offers paid internships, medical assistance and mental health, and counseling.
It also give students regardless of their background or even if their meta humans, jobs in their company or allows them to be put down as a reference for other Jobs.
Alot of hero's Like Vixen, Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Power Girl and besides a few others. Minus Wonder Woman and Zatanna, and Vixen everyone else uses their public identities or donate anonymously.
Considering Caius is the acting CEO of the company since his mother's disappearance he has a sort of public identity. He mostly handles board meetings where he is one of the two men table. Signing off on scholarship programs and internships where he saw a name he saw a name he never thought he see so soon.
Samantha Wilkins ( Atom Eve)
Caius looked around the area and took in the hard work his mom and others put in to Gotham.
Kids played within sight of the street without parents looking like they expected gunfire at any second. The air, while still urban, felt fresher with the planted trees and flower gardens around the neighborhood.
Small businesses stayed open later. Graffiti was less frequent and more artistic like murals. This district especially, around Wildcat's Gym, had improved dramatically over the years.
Ted's presence really mattered. And People knew better than to tear up the blocks around his gym unless they wanted every fighter in the place stepping out together.
Caius cut around the side of the building and slipped into the alley behind the gym.
The alley was narrow but clean enough by Gotham standards. Brick walls on both sides. Fire escapes overhead. A dumpster at the far end near the service road. The city's sunset filtered in from above in strips of orange and gold.
He pulled on his hoodie, settled the duffel more securely across his back, and stood still for a second.
Tonight he would move forward with his plan to infiltrate the Belfry.
Even If Barbara was inviting him, that changed some things, but not enough. An invitation didn't erase anything after all this time. Not with the Bat-family. Not with the League. Not after five years of being observed like a wild beast.
Plus he knew better then to think Batman didn't have back up surveillance. So yes, he would go tonight in the cover of darkness.
He then began to levitate out of the alley and started to fly away from the gym and headed home. But he chose to take his time and make a stop somewhere first.
The evening air was cool enough to feel good on his skin, and Gotham under sunset was almost beautiful in a way the city rarely let itself be. Gold light spilled over rooftops and glass. Shadows stretched long and thin. The constant city noise softened slightly as day shifted into evening.
He flew through the with his head up and his face covered, not that most people would even see him. Let alone recognize him too easily. But Gotham had enough surveillance cameras and nosy eyes without adding to them.
His thoughts kept moving back to what Beatriz had whispered. Mark is being held by the Global Defense Agency for Re-education all these years.
He wondered how much would that would change. Or maybe it confirmed everything he had feared.
The GDA had been holding Invincible for years, Cecil Stedman, turning him into a asset. between the League, the Guardians, and all the Earth-based metahuman groups, it was good to have a Viltrumite Hybrid in his pocket for any type of threat.
By the time Caius reached his neighborhood, the sky had gone fully dark. He touched down softly at his front door.
He went inside his house, checked his own countermeasures, ran three silent sweeps for anything newly placed, and found nothing immediately suspicious. If Wally had really removed the visible surveillance, then Barbara had moved fast.
That didn't mean Caius relaxed, It meant he adjusted. Batman was still paranoid in this world.
But Caius thought since Debbie wasn't here yet he should clean up and cook dinner incase she comes back.
A few hours later in another part of the country. At Titans Tower, on a private island in Jump City Bay, the training room gleamed beneath white light and shifting holographic panels.
The chamber was massive, an adaptable simulation space lined with reinforced flooring, modular walls, sensor arrays, and projection units built into the ceiling and corners. The room could be reconfigured for combat training, obstacle courses, environmental hazards, or team scenarios in under a minute. Right now it was set to open combat mode: wide floor space, projected pillars, shifting cover points, and aerial lanes mapped in glowing light.
Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) flew hard through the chamber. She moved like a streak of bright red and blue in motion, her blonde hair snapping behind her as she twisted midair to avoid a cluster of pink projectiles. The constructs shattered against the space she had just vacated, and she turned sharply, her red skirt and cape flaring with the movement.
Across from her, Samantha Wilkins (Atom Eve) hovered hands raised and fingers moving in precise patterns. More constructs formed in front of her instantly. Spears. Plates. Walls. And interlocking barriers. She fired them one after another, adapting each wave based on Kara's reactions.
At the side of the room, Miss Martian floated just above, observing with her hands clasped behind her back.
Supergirl rolled aside just as a heavier construct slammed through the air where her shoulder had been a second earlier.
She adjusted instantly. Instead of evading the next wave completely, she punched straight through it. The pink constructs shattered around her forearm and chest as she forced through the spear barrage and shot toward Eve in a blur.
Eve's eyes widened. She reacted fast, building a giant pink fist above her that dropped toward Kara from overhead even as Kara's own punch drew back.
The two attacks were about to collide. When:
"That's enough you two," M'gann said firmly.
The two froze. Kara's fist stopped inches from Eve's face. The giant pink fist halted just above Kara's head. For half a breath, neither young woman moved.
Then the constructs dissolved. Kara floated down lightly and brushed hair back from her face. Eve descended slower and sat down right on the floor with a tired exhale.
M'gann smiled at both of them. "That was a good spar, ladies."
Kara rubbed the back of her neck. "You keep getting faster Eve."
Eve pointed at her. "And you keep flying through my hard work."
M'gann floated lower until her boots touched the floor. "It's been a year since both of you joined the Titans. So how does it feel?"
Kara glanced around the simulation room, then shrugged one shoulder.
"It's still an adjustment. Like everything else." Her mouth curved faintly. "But the Tower has way more sunlight than the Fortress of Solitude, and way more interesting people than Smallville."
Eve chuckled at that. " So the bar was that low?"
Kara nodded, "I'm grateful to my cousin and the Kents. And I'm even more grateful to Cyborg and Vergil ( Static), helping to make my room feel a little more like Krypton. Even if it's just a imitation."
Eve rested back on her hands, now that training had stopped. "It's still kind of unreal that I'm part of the Titans or I guess the Titans now. But when Batman said you guys were the best option for helping young meta-humans, I figured even he couldn't be wrong about everything. I still can't believe I met Batman."
M'gann's smile widened. "That's good to hear. The Titans are still supposed to be a place where young teens meta-humans or not can learn how to use their powers. The tower is place of guidance."
Then her expression shifted. She looked down at the watch on her wrist and her eyes widened.
"Oh no."
Eve tilted her head. "What?"
"I was supposed to meet Batgirl at the Belfry. It's about Caius."
Kara looked over immediately. "Caius? You mean the Viltrumite hybrid?"
Eve sat up straighter. "Yeah, I've heard that name too from Bumblebee. Wait since you're Kryptonian, can you tell me if the Viltrumites are really the bad guys?"
Kara nodded slowly.
"My people have been dealing with them for a long time. Or at least that's what I heard heard, I never actually met a Viltrumite. But from what I was taught the Empire only ever looked at Krypton and Daxam as means to an end."
Kara's face tightened a little as old memories surfaced. "My mother told me to be careful if I ever encountered a male Viltrumite. Especially a hybrid."
Eve blinked. "Why?"
Kara gave a short, awkward shrug. "I missed that lesson in school, ironically. Mom said she would tell me when I was older, but that's when Krypton exploded and I was trapped in the Phantom Zone for so long. "
That made Eve snort.
Then Kara looked toward M'gann. "But don't Martians have a decent relationship with the Empire?"
M'gann nodded slowly. "Long ago, Mars was divided by the different color of Martians. When the Viltrumites arrived, they ended the war our people by force and then… helped unify us after. So yes. Some Martians remember them more favorably. A hybrid even comes from our people."
She hesitated, then added, "And Starfire once told me that many Tamaraneans view them with a kind of reverence. Calling them honored ones. Something close to gods from how she spoke about them."
Eve frowned at that. "That sounds awful, I mean from what I'm hearing they did a lot of bad and yet some cultures revere and worship them, what is wrong with people. No offence M'gann or to Starfire, wherever in the world she is."
M'gann didn't argue. "It's fine, not all Martians from my generation still have this view like me or me or my uncle. But their is a sense of thankfulness for uniting our people."
Kara crossed her arms. "So what is this Caius guy like? Is he like Omni man and Invincible?"
M'gann's expression dimmed. " No. If anything he was one of the best of us."
Kara's brow lifted.
M'gann went on quietly, "Caius was there at the beginning. Along with Robin, Aqualad, Speedy, Kid Flash, Starfire, and Superboy. He helped start the Titans."
Kara's face hardened with assumption. "Must have been so it would be easier to get all his targets in one place. Like what Invincible did."
Eve's head snapped toward her. "Kara!"
M'gann shook her head immediately. "No. Caius wasn't like that." Her voice stayed calm, but there was hurt in it now. "He's the reason a lot of us are even alive."
The room went quiet, as Kara looked away first in frustration. After a moment M'gann sighed and straightened. "I have to go. So let's call it here."
Eve stood up. " Yeah, I've got a paper I need to finish anyway."
Kara adjusted her cape and gave both of them a nod. "See you later."
The three of them left the training room separately, their footsteps and floating movement fading into the halls of Titans Tower.
Back in Gotham, by an abandoned warehouse near the pier, Caius stood alone in the dark.
The structure behind him had once been part of some shipping operation decades ago. Now it was just another dead shell in one of Gotham's older industrial stretches, broken windows, rusted fire escapes, crumbling brick, warped steel beams, and graffiti layered over graffiti until the walls looked like the city's subconscious.
Inside the building, one large room on the second floor had been turned into something useful.
The space was dim except for portable lights, a laptop, two monitors, and the glow of projected screens cast across an entire wall. Maps of Gotham. The Belfry. Titans Tower. The new Justice League satellite. Energy readings from Zeta Tubes. Security layers. Known patrol windows. Public records. Private records and more.
Caius stood in front of it all with his hoodie up and his hands in his pockets. His face was lit in shifting blue-white data.
There was information on the Belfry's older architecture. Information on the new modifications Barbara had mentioned from surveillance data. Known Bat-tech security camera's and non lethal deterrents.
Titans Tower had its own section. So did the new League satellite and a few several GDA agency's. For five years Caius had been waiting, watching, and building around the silence everyone else expected him to swallow.
And tonight, and tonight he was gonna change that.
He knew Batman's Batcave computer was also connected to the Belfry. So if he had any info which Caius knew he did, then it will be on the Belfry's computer. Which will be better to access better than sneaking into the Batcave.
Caius stared at the wall for a long moment, his amber eyes reflecting rows of data and shifting schematics. Then, very slowly, he reached out and touched the highlighted schematic of the Belfry.
Time to get this over with.