Endless Legacy Ch. 38 (DC Comics) (Patreon)

A/N: Lucien brings Blackfire further into the fold than ever before.

-x-X-x-

“Yes? What is it? Why did we have to meet here privately?”

In everything that had happened, he’d almost forgotten that as far as Amnesiac Blackfire was concerned, their connection was through Starfire, rather than Starfire being their target. So getting Blackfire to come to his apartment with little explanation had been easier said than done. Still, it HAD been done, and now the two of them stood in his kitchen while Spot was under the table, once more consuming a slab of microwaved meat.

As the Snow Leopard Cub goes to town on his meal, Lucien sighs and steps closer to Blackfire, making her tense up. Though she doesn’t back away, because in the end, regardless of the amnesia, they’ve already been intimate several times. As such, she lets him place his hands on her bared shoulders with very little fanfare, causing Lucien to smile as he explains while working his magic.

“Because there’s something you’ve forgotten. And we’re here to remind you of it.”

He watches Blackfire’s eyes clear up as the block on her memories is lifted, her amnesia cured and her mind fully restored to her. He also watches as those same eyes suddenly narrow, blazing with anger over his perceived slights just like last time.

When her fist comes up, blazing with purple energy and aiming straight for his head, Lucien is prepared for it with a glowing hand of his own, catching the punch in his palm. Then… he goes for broke. Because he really doesn’t want to have to go through all the angst and anger again. Even if the hate sex was fun, he’d rather skip to the part where Blackfire forgave Starfire for the things outside of her control.

That’s why, holding her hand, Lucien goes in and tries to… upload memories of the events that never happened. They aren’t from Blackfire’s point of view or anything like that, hell they’re barely from Lucien’s point of view. Instead, if he’s doing it correctly, it should be almost like watching a recording of what happened, albeit through his eyes, but without any of his thoughts, feelings, or emotions attached to it.

The act causes the Tamaranean Princess to go slack, her eyes blanking out for a moment as she’s forced to process all that he’s forcing upon her. Lucien has made sure to cut out the part with Death in it however, making it instead seem like he died and then subsequently woke back up in the same bed where he’d originally given her memories back and caused the whole mess in the first place.

Stopping it there before anything he’d done so far in this timeline, Lucien watches as Blackfire slowly comes out of the daze he’s put her in, blinking rapidly and looking somewhat baffled.

“What… what was that? What just happened? You… those were not my memories.”

Lucien shakes his head solemnly.

“No, they were not. I have a confession to make, Blackfire. When I die, I don’t stay dead. I go back in time and get another chance to make things right.”

Pulling away from him, Blackfire shivers as she moves backwards until she’s up against the wall. She’s clearly still processing everything she saw, along with the confession he just made. Lucien just waits quietly, giving her the time she obviously needs. Finally though, she clenches her hands into fists and huffs.

“How many? How many times have you relived these events?”

Did she think he’d lived hundreds of times and only decided to let her see the latest? He’s almost tempted to lean into that belief. And maybe he will, just a little bit.

“Just the once since we’ve met. And I’ve already subverted the events that I just got done showing you. I had Terra take me to Slade Wilson last night while you and Starfire slept and dealt with him and his connection to the Demon Lord who would have kicked off everything. For now, at least, the Titans and the rest of the world should be safe from his machinations.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, clearly deep in thought, Blackfire lets out a shuddering breath as she nods at that. She’s probably still coming to terms with everything. To be fair, Lucien himself has barely allowed himself to think about it. From Blackfire basically sacrificing herself to give Lucien and Spot a chance to get away, to watching the Titans get dismantled and torn apart one by one, either killed or worse than killed.

He knows he’ll probably have nightmares about the crunching sound Starfire’s body had made when it was flung against the obsidian pillar for a while. Whether she’d survived that throw or not didn’t really matter given everything was pretty fucking doomed by that point.

“Then if the problem is already dealt with… let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Lucien blinks at that, raising an eyebrow at Blackfire. But the Tamaranean Princess doesn’t back down, all but hissing as she clutches at her own arms where she’s crossing them.

“I’m serious. The demon bitch is just going to flip out once she realizes that I’ve got my memories back, so we can’t go back to their Tower. Let’s just leave. Go somewhere else. You can do it, can’t you? You’re Lex fucking Luthor’s son. You’ve surely got the funds to relocate to a new city. And even if you don’t, with your powers we can just carve out a spot wherever we want.”

… Honestly, Blackfire was sort of speaking his language. In a manner of speaking, he’d already gotten everything he wanted out of the Titans. His methodology might have changed, but his goal hadn’t. He was still going to make Death cum one day. But now Lucien knew that it wasn’t just about being tougher or stronger than Death of the Endless (a tall order to begin with) or even just having more stamina than her (probably impossible).

Sure, he still needed to be able to last long enough in bed with her to bring her to climax, but he couldn’t just expect to fuck her like a jackhammer until she came squealing his name. That sort of thing worked on someone like Blackfire, but not someone like Death. Lucien needed more subtle methods of drawing pleasure out of the woman of his dreams, and that meant adding further powers to his skillset.

Yeah, he wouldn’t pass up a chance to get ahold of Kryptonian DNA so he could build himself into one of those powerful motherfuckers, but he also needed other things. He needed to be able to try everything at least once on Death.

So yes, Blackfire was right. The Titans and Jump City in general didn’t have much left for him. It was time for him to move on. But Blackfire…

“And what about Starfire? Would she come with us? Or are we leaving her behind?”

Blackfire stiffens, even though she had to have known he would bring the other Tamaranean up. For a long moment, she just stays quiet, like a form of silent protest. But when she realizes he’s definitely waiting her out, she finally rolls her eyes and grunts.

“We’re leaving her behind.”

When he STILL stays quiet, clearly continuing to wait her out, Blackfire throws her hands up in the air.

“FINE! You want me to talk about it? I’ll fucking talk about it. I forgive her, okay? Or rather, I realize I was an idiot. Tch, that other me would probably have something to say right now… the idiot literally threw herself into a swarm of demons so you could go save her sister and you couldn’t even manage that.”

Lucien raises an eyebrow at that interpretation of events. Blackfire would know better than him what was going through her own mind, he supposed. Still, she’s not done yet.

“I still hate our parents and our people with all my heart. But… I don’t hate her anymore. I can’t. But I also can’t be around her right now either. I need fucking time, okay? And seeing as her friends hate me with all their guts, it’s better if we all give each other some damn space.”

Glaring at him intensely now, Blackfire growls.

“So you tell me here and now what you’re doing. You city hopping? Because if you are, I’ll still be your ‘henchwoman’ or what the fuck ever. But if you want to stick around, this is where we part ways.”

Ah, she honestly sounds a little insecure, and even afraid. Though she tries to hide it to the best of her abilities, Lucien is very good at reading people at this point. He can tell she doesn’t want him to ‘abandon’ her by choosing to stick around Jump City. Fortunately for both of their sakes…

“You’re right, of course. I’m more than ready to leave this city behind. And yes, I should have the resources to make it happen. I’m even in agreement that we should leave Starfire behind as well. Her friends need her more than we do and if you need time away from her, I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Blackfire stiffens at that.

“What? We’re not going to tell her or anything. I’m saying we leave right now! No notice!”

But Lucien just shakes his head, having already expected as much.

“We’re telling her. She deserves an explanation, Blackfire.”

Bristling, Blackfire grits her teeth.

“And how are you going to explain us leaving her behind? Remember, she thinks you two are a couple. What, are you going to tell her the truth? That you seduced her solely to placate your first ‘henchwoman’?”

The truth? Fuck no. Lucien just smiles mysteriously.

“I have a plan.”

-x-X-x-

They meet Starfire on the roof of his apartment building. Before she can do or say anything, Lucien rips the band-aid off right then and there.

“Blackfire has her memories back.”

Starfire freezes in place, going wide-eyed as she immediately focuses all of her attention on her older sister.

“K-Komandr, I-!”

“No. Don’t start. Just listen because I’m only going to say this once.”

Then, clearly rallying herself for something truly groundbreaking, Blackfire breathes in through her nostrils and…

“I’m sorry.”

Even Lucien is a little surprised by that. He didn’t think Blackfire had it in her. Starfire certainly looks gobsmacked, before quickly trying to talk anyways.

“N-No, it’s me who-!”

“Shut. Up. Didn’t I just say to listen only?”

Starfire clams up, defaulting to her submissive tendencies as she squirms under Blackfire’s gaze.

“You weren’t at fault for how our people compared me to you. It was my parents and the rest of Tamaran that were to blame. I hate them for what they did to me… to us. And I’m sorry for taking all of that hatred out on you.”

Starfire’s eyes water with unshed tears at that, and she looks like she wants to speak… but knows better. Blackfire gives her a few seconds with which to mess up, but when she stays quiet, the older Tamaranean nods approvingly and continues on.

“I need to leave. I can’t stay here in this city with you and your friends. Not just because your friends hate my guts and will never trust me after all I did to them in the name of getting to you, but also because of everything that’s happened between us. I need time away from you to get my head on straight and figure out my next steps. That’s why you can’t come with me.”

There’s another pause, longer this time, before Starfire finally realizes Blackfire is done talking and she’s allowed to speak again. Blackfire doesn’t say it of course, but that’s typical Blackfire. Of course, now that Blackfire has laid it all out so clearly, Starfire doesn’t quite know what to say. Her sister is being reasonable for the first time in their lives, and Starfire’s first impulse, to beg to go with her, has already been shot down.

For a moment, Starfire just looks around the rooftop frantically. Before finally, her eyes land on Lucien. And then…

“E-Even if I can’t come with you, please take Lucien with you, sister!”

Blackfire freezes in place, incredulity writ large across her face as Starfire earnestly offers him up on a silver platter to her. The incredulity isn’t just because of Starfire’s words though, but rather because… yep, this was Lucien’s plan. Pretty simple, but if there was one thing he knew at this point, it was how both Starfire and Blackfire’s brains worked. He would have bet almost anything that Starfire would come up with this idea without too much urging. Hell, he’d pretty much bet their ability to have a clean break on it.

“I-I know it’s a lot to ask Lucien, but please… w-would you consider it? We can still talk on the phone and everything, but Blackfire… I’m sorry sister, but you really shouldn’t be alone. And since you and Lucien are so close already…”

Lucien and Blackfire exchange a look, where Blackfire just looks even more incredulous that his damn plan had somehow worked without him seemingly having to do anything, and Lucien very carefully doesn’t show an ounce of smugness or gloating on his visage or in his tone. Finally, he slowly nods.

“Alright Kori… if that’s what you want… and if Komandr is agreeable, then I’ll do it.”

“… Tch. Fine. He can come.”

Starfire whoops with glee, even lifting off the ground for a moment as she clasps her hands together in front of her and does a twirl. After a moment though, she comes back down and looks at them both expectantly.

“Where will you go, exactly? Ah, maybe Lucien has an idea, given he will be funding this venture?”

He did actually have a couple of ideas at this point. There were lots of places all over the world to travel to, but he didn’t necessarily want to leave the US yet. In the meantime, while there were a lot of cities within the United States as well, two in particular had caught his attention.

Number One was Metropolis, of course. Home to Superman, Supergirl, and Power Girl. Three Kryptonians meant more chances for him to maybe get his hands on one of them or even just on one of their blood after a particularly hard battle. However, it did come with its downsides as well.

For one, for all their strength, he and Blackfire would be small fish in a big pond in a place like Metropolis. The place was routinely threatened by villains who could go toe to toe with Kryptonians after all, and that resulted in a lot of property damage. For two, Metropolis was where his father and LexCorp were located. Lucien had never followed up on his father being a clone, nor had he gotten back in touch with Mercy ever since they’d last parted ways. By setting foot in Metropolis, he was sure to be putting himself on his father’s (or his father’s clone’s) radar in a big way.

Number two was Gotham City. Original home of Robin and also current home of the ‘Bat Family’. Most of Gotham’s heroes and heroines didn’t have powers for Lucien to pick up. They were, by and large, baseline humans like Robin from what he understood it. Just highly skilled and trained combatants.

However, the villains and villainesses of Gotham City were a different story. Plenty of them had unique physiologies and powers for Lucien to pick up, and better still, he and Blackfire should be two of the tougher folks in town. At the same time though, there were some downsides. Lucien remembered hearing something about Batman coming down way harder on anyone TOO strong showing up in his city, and even going so far as to kick out more powerful heroes who wanted to help him out. So they would have to lie low to keep from attracting too much attention.

As well, there was something about Gotham that was just dark, twisted, and corrupted. Something unnatural that made it a place where plenty of visitors never made it back out again. That said, that pallor of death was sort of a mix between a downside and an upside, because one of the reasons Lucien wanted to go to Gotham was to investigate it and see if it had any connection to Death of the Endless herself.

Really, both options had their upsides and downsides. And Lucien knew he was dead set on choosing one of them. But now, it seemed, he needed to decide which.