Death, it seemed, was a funny business.

James Jesse had kind of gotten the feeling that shuffling the mortal coil wasn't as straightforward as one might expect well before his own death. Quite of a few of his friends had died, and quite a few of them had come back, many with conflicting stories. It seemed not everyone went to the same place when they bit the dust, which was something James found intriguing.

It would have made his after-life much simpler if they all ended up in the same place, but what were you gonna do. He had to work with the cards he'd been dealt.

After his own untimely demise James Jesse found himself a resident of Neron's hell-realm. Frankly, he'd rather have ended up in any other afterworld, even one of the other hell-realms. Of course he'd go to the one lorded over by a demon king he'd personally ticked off more than once. That just figured. But again, James made the most of what he had to work with. The first few years had been every bit as hellish as Neron's reputation suggested they ought to be, but James played his expected part. He pretended to be weighed down and crushed by his constant tortures. Neron felt his revenge had been enacted, and his attention eventually shifted to one of the other petty mortals who had wronged him.

When James no longer had so very much of the demon king's undivided attention he got to know his new existence and more importantly still, he began to network. He'd only survived as long as he had in the costumed world because of the connections he'd made in life, and he was sure the same skills would be helpful in death. Because James wasn't stupid enough to think that his death had taken him out of the action. Even if he'd suffered such delusions, waking up on Neron's doormat would have been a strong enough message. Between his son and his friends, he was still involved.

When James found out about his ex-girlfriend's gruesome murder by ninja-cult, he started asking around. He was hoping to ask Mindy some questions about her death himself, but frustratingly enough, he couldn't find her. Which was just stupid. If anyone was a nemesis of Neron, it was Miranda Hong. She'd raised and overseen the Majee in full service of Meshta, Neron's ancient enemy. Neron had a vested interest in not only killing Mindy but keeping tabs on her. He'd managed to stake a claim on James' soul for eternal damnation and torture, so logic said he'd done the same thing with Mindy.

Much to James' consternation, three weeks after her death she still hadn't appeared in the Pit.

Roy Harper must not have been aware that Piper had super-hearing. To be fair, very few people were. Not being overly fond of surveillance work, Piper had kept that ability to himself, for the most part. A select few friends knew about his robot hearing. He'd also generally kept quiet about the true nature of his hypnotic abilities, preferring to have his enemies underestimate rather than overestimate him.

Still though. For some reason, he'd kind of expected a member of the West family to have tipped Roy off about his hearing by now.

The man was currently walking across the sidewalk in front of his house every twenty minutes or so with his daughter's dog, no doubt hoping to "casually" bump into Piper while taking Arrow Dog for a walk. Piper was rather curious about why Roy wasn't just calling him or why he wouldn't ring the bell, so he remained indoors with the curtains drawn, wondering when Roy was going to give up on his rather pathetic ruse. After nearly an hour of this stubbornness the poor dog, who'd started out excited and full of pep, was panting and trudging along at half pace.

Taking pity on the little ball of urine soaked fluff, Piper grabbed a book and went outside to sit on his porch. Roughly twenty minutes later, Roy caught him on his next pass.

"Oh, hey Piper. What'cha up to?"

Piper tried not to smirk. He closed his book and set it on the small table between his plastic chairs. "Not a whole lot. Your daughter's dog looks a bit fatigued. Do you want me to grab a bowl of water for her?"

Roy cast a look at the poor thing, who was sitting at his feet with her tongue lolling out of her mouth. She gave her tail a feeble wag when she noticed Roy looking at her, as if to assure him she could keep up with the continuous walking if it would please him. Roy frowned, then threw a quick nod at Piper. "Yeah, I think water's probably a good idea."

"C'mon inside then." It was a mild enough day for a Keystone winter, but it was still a bit chilly to be sitting outside on the porch. Overall it was a good thing Piper did have super-hearing and had heard Roy and his dog doing laps around his house; the poor little chihuahua-terrier mix might have frozen to death before her idiot owner thought to knock on the front door.

Piper went into the kitchen and sifted through his cabinets until he found the smallest bowl he owned. He filled it with water and placed it in front of Arrow Dog. It was still more water than the tiny thing could handle, but she stuck her head in the bowl and appreciatively lapped it up all the same.

Roy shrugged out of his coat and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. "Thanks for watering the dog. Uh…is it okay if I steal something too? I think it just caught up with me, how long I've been walking circles around the damn neighborhood."

"I've got spring water, soy milk, and ginger ale at the moment. It's been a bit since I've gone to the store…or had anyone but Jai over the house."

Roy made a face when he mentioned the soy milk, and accepted a can of ginger ale instead. Piper sat down across from him and eyed him curiously. "Any reason you were walking circles around my neighborhood?"

"Mostly I was feeling too antsy to stay in. Plus I was sort of hoping to bump into you."

"Ah. Well in that case, you could have just knocked on the door. You're welcome to do that in the future, you know."

Roy looked a bit sheepish. "Cool. You're, like, one of the only people in this city I can stand but…"

"But?"

Roy shrugged. "Don't you think it'd be kinda weird if we started hanging out? I dunno. It seemed like a weird idea to me."

Piper frowned and shook his head. Roy glanced down at the dog, a pensive look on his face. "Guess that's just on my end then. I'm overcomplicating things. Uh, anyway, in the realm of me not being too screwed up for basic friendships, there is something I wanted to talk to you about."

"All right…" Piper couldn't help but wonder what that had been about. He'd have to puzzle it out later, it seemed.

"Yeah. I'd heard you knew this Billy Hong kid who just joined the Titans."

"Oh." Piper heaved a quiet sigh and gave his head a small shake. "I'm sorry, Roy, but I already gave my most useful intel to Jai when the kids were deciding whether or not to let Billy join the team. I was friends with Billy's father, but I only met Billy and his mother a handful of times. I don't really know the boy much better than the Titans do."

"Ah…well, fuck."

"If it helps, I don't think you have anything to be worried about. I may not have had many opportunities to meet Billy in person, but I kept up a fair amount of correspondence with his mother. She was a good person, and I know she worked hard to instill her values in her son. I think he'll be a valuable addition to the team."

"Oh, yeah, dude he totally passed. He's definitely going to be a Titan now. I'm not worried about that," Roy said.

Piper quirked an eyebrow. "Then what are you worried about?"

"Lian invited Billy back to Ollie's house with us for Christmas, so I just spent a week with the kid. I like him."

"Me too."

Roy sighed. "So does Lian…"

"Oh." Piper suddenly hit on the full significance of that. "You like him better than that other boy Lian likes." The one he didn't really know at all, but had an unfavorable opinion of because the little beast had trampled on Jai's heart. Of course, he'd done that in secret, so Piper wasn't able to convey any of his dislike because as far as anyone was allowed to tell, his dislike would be completely unfounded.

"Look, Damian's a good kid, but he's also an arrogant prick who makes no secret of his utter dislike of me. It's bad enough that Wally's trashing me to his kids, but my daughter's first damn boyfriend is at least going to respect me. And besides that, Damian is five fucking years older than Lian. Billy's only a couple years older than her, right?"

"He's supposed to be significantly older, but he seems to have had his aging suspended for some reason."

"Right, well anyway, he's like sixteen. Lian's fourteen. That's not so bad. I don't want them to start dating anytime soon, but in the long run if they really like each other that is kinda the direction I'd like her to go."

"Mm. I'd say the best way to ensure that doesn't happen is to make Lian fully aware that you have a preference."

Roy grumbled something under his breath and threw a bitter look somewhere in the direction of Piper's shoes. Then he laughed. "I think that might be how Dick ended up dating me the first time around. His old guardians really liked one of his ex-girlfriends, but me not so much…the 'parental' disapproval added to my rebellious bad boy appeal."

"You know, Roy, if you mean Batman, Alfred Pennyworth, and Batgirl, you can just say so."

Roy snapped his gaze back up and assessed Piper with a shrewd look which he unblinkingly returned. "We've only ever interacted in our civilian identities. I figured with you being involved in the Titans and knowing Lian was Speedy, you'd have us all figured out, but the archers have always kind of sucked at secret identities. Do you know everyone's?"

"I know a lot more secret identities than people realize. It's okay, Roy. I don't do anything with the information." He was barely even a reserve anymore. Piper couldn't remember the last time he'd suited up.

"I wasn't particularly worried," Roy said. The easy sincerity of his statement was oddly touching. Most heroes took a little while to come around on the idea that Piper wasn't a threat to them, even though he'd been reformed for so many years. Because he'd started his costumed career on the wrong side, he found himself always having to prove himself to people. It could be downright exhausting sometimes.

Apparently Roy already trusted him.

He ended up staying for another hour or so, even though they didn't have anything pressing to talk about. As was his habit, when general topics of conversation failed him Piper shifted the discussion to music. Roy lit up during the discussion, though occasionally his expression shifted to something more melancholy, and he absently trailed his fingers over the empty sleeve hanging at his side.

Piper had never had that much talent when it came to making music. He couldn't imagine how awful it must be to have been good at it and then lose the ability. He was pretty sure Roy could still drum if he wanted to; modifications could be made to both drum kits and his prosthetic to make that happen for him. It probably wouldn't feel quite the same though, which must have had something to do with him not seeking that out. And even Piper's extensive knowledge of both tinkering and music couldn't come up with any way to help the man play guitar again.

Roy seemed a little more mindful of Arrow Dog when he left than when he'd arrived, possibly because the poor thing had fallen asleep curled up in front of a radiator after drinking her fill of water. He zipped her up in his coat so that only her little head was sticking out before he left, which was rather brave of him given her tendency to unexpectedly urinate.

Piper watched them go, a small smile on his face as he contemplated his friend. Then he felt an odd shiver. He thought he caught a flash of green light out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned there was nothing there. He considered searching his house, but ultimately decided it was unnecessary. He'd probably just caught an odd reflection off a passing vehicle or something.

Because he hadn't heard anything. If there was something in his house that didn't belong, he'd have heard it.

Meanwhile, after vanishing from Keystone City James Jesse popped over to New York to check on his son. Billy was back in Titans Tower, and from the looks of it he'd really settled in. His room looked like a mix between some kind of occult bookstore and a freaky curiosity shop, and it smelled strongly of incense.

It might have been James' imagination, but he thought he was getting some of that creepy 'bigger than it should be' distortion that usually went along with the dwellings of the magically inclined.

"Heya kiddo. How's it going?"

Billy was lying on his bed with a large, scary looking tome with yellowed pages cracked open in front of him. He didn't bother looking up as he shrugged his thin shoulders. "It goes. The Titans haven't made any progress on figuring out who attacked us, beyond the obvious, anyway. We know it's Neron, but we're not sure how he's extending his reach into our realm."

"It's not the same loophole I'm taking."

Billy finally looked up, wearing the tiniest of wry smiles. "Considering that loophole is me, I should hope not." He closed the book and sat up, remaining on the bed in a cross-legged position. Upon first glance, James had assumed his son was wearing his usual too-formal-for-comfort ensemble, but he appeared to be relaxing. He was still all in black, but he was wearing sweatpants instead of slacks, and his button down shirt was made of a soft looking fabric. "Have you found Mom yet?"

"I'm still looking. I've yanked in all my contacts, so we should have word any day now. How'd your visit with the cute little gal in purple go?"

Billy narrowed his eyes. "Fine."

James arched one of his brows. "Just fine?"

"Dad, I'm not going to talk about Lian with you."

"Why not?"

"Because it's weird. Did you talk about girls you liked with your parents?"

"My parents were horrible. This is different." James jumped into the air and adopted a cross legged sitting position. As he was hovering, he ended up eye level with Billy. "I want to help you out, and I do know a thing or two about dating."

"I'm sure you do, otherwise I couldn't imagine you ever catching Mom's attention."

"I'm choosing to take that as a compliment." James flashed one of his more charming smiles, and Billy rolled his eyes.

"I still don't want dating advice. I've given this a lot of thought since I returned from Coast City, and I don't…I don't think it's a good idea. I mean…" Billy's expression was as cold and unreadable as he could make it, but James was good at picking up the tiniest little tics that people didn't notice. He could see the sadness and the weariness in his son's eyes. "Considering what just happened, I shouldn't give Neron any more targets. At the moment, he's killed everyone dear to me."

"So what's your grand plan? Go through life keeping everyone at arm's length just in case? That's not much of an existence, Billy."

"It's better than the alternative," Billy said. He crawled off the bed and started pacing, letting his agitation show. "I don't know if Neron had a more strategic reason for killing Mom than hurting me. She's been plotting against him and working against him for years. He easily could have struck while I was away at that monastery. I wouldn't have been able to stop him then, but instead he waited until I could fail in person. Until I could…until I could watch."

"Billy, it wasn't your fault," James insisted.

Billy shook his head. "No, it was Meshta's. He abandoned me when I needed him. I tried to call him, and he didn't answer."

James hopped down from his hovering sitting position and drifted closer to Billy. "Careful there, kiddo. You don't wanna go blaspheming against the deity that's been watching your back up until now. Maybe there was a reason Meshta didn't pick up your mystical phone call. Neron might have had that base covered too."

Again, Billy shook his head. "It was different this time, Dad. I think Meshta wanted Mom to die. Not for the same reasons as Neron, most likely, but I'm pretty sure that's what happened. I'm just his channel. His majee. He doesn't let me in on the grand cosmic details, and that's never really bothered me before, but this time…if there's a reason, he should have told me."

It wasn't the first time James had wanted to give the kid a hug since he'd died, far from it, but James couldn't remember ever longing for the ability to give physical comfort to someone he cared about more than at that moment. It was up there with the time he'd watched Piper get stabbed through his shoulder and then try to treat the infected wound alone in the condemned ruins of the house his parents had been murdered in. Although the desire to give Piper a much needed hug had been mixed in with a desire to shake him and tell him what an idiot he was for thinking he had to suffer alone.

At least Billy knew he wasn't alone.

As if summoned by James' very thoughts, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Billy took a breath and carefully composed himself to some façade of calm before he answered the door.

West's daughter was standing there, wearing the Kid Flash costume with the cowl down. She smiled shyly at Billy, her skin lighting up with a telling blush. James shook his head in amusement, and silently wondered how many of the kids were crushing on his son.

"H-hey Billy," Irey mumbled, her pretty eyes meeting his for barely a second before dropping to their feet. "How goes it?"

"I'm well, thanks. I didn't expect you at the Tower until the next meeting this weekend. Is anything the matter?"

"No. Uh, I mean, well there was a bank robbery this morning that made me late for class and the weather's been weird, which might be Josh-related, but nothing big's going on."

Billy gave a nod, and waited patiently for her to continue. But Irey continued hovering nervously in the doorway, eyes glued to the floor.

"Iris," Billy gently prompted. "Not that I'm upset at seeing you, but is there a reason you're here?"

"Oh, yeah! Uh…so Mom and, and Jai and everyone thought you might be lonely. Y'know, since you live at this place pretty much alone for most of the week. They had me run over here to check if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight. We're having Uncle Piper over too, and then we're going to play Apples to Apples after dinner. Y'know, unless one of the Rogues tries to do something illegal. Then we'd have to go stop them, but usually we can get through a few hands of Apples to Apples before we have to leave. It's lame family stuff, but it's something."

Considering the conversation they'd just been having, James fully expected Billy to shoot her down. To his pleasant surprise, Billy's lips quirked in the barest of smiles and he slowly nodded. "That sounds…that sounds nice. If it wouldn't be an intrusion, I'd like very much to spend an evening with your family."

"Really? I mean, I mean cool! Awesome! It's going to be great. Mom's a really good cook, and Uncle Piper's just the best, and if you're there Jai might not be much of a brat. This is going to be great. Here, let me grab you so I can throw a Speed Force field around you and run you to Kansas."

"That's okay, Iris. I have my own transportation." Billy enveloped himself in a blue light and was gone almost immediately. Irey pulled her cowl back up and took off half a second later.

James smiled at the empty room, glad his son was out being social. Later that night, when James jumped up to the land of the living to say goodnight to him, he wanted to strangle the little prick when he explained that he'd gone over to the Wests as a sort of reconnaissance. He was studying his new teammates to get to know them better, and he was intrigued about his father's old friend.

"I might not have gone if she hadn't mentioned Piper."

James scowled. "You know, you're kind of reminding me of Hartley right now with this insistent martyr phooey. So what'd you think of him?"

Billy shrugged. "He seems nice enough. His friendship with Jai West is a little weird though. They're oddly close."

"Hart's Jai's fake-uncle and best friend. Of course they're close."

"Mm, but it's…well, anyway, it was a nice enough evening. I'm going to get back to work now though. I missed a night's study and I'm trying to get through at least three tomes of spellwork before the next meeting."

James frowned. "Try to get some sleep, while you're at it. You may be the Majee, but you're still a mortal."

"Mm." Billy barely made any indication of having heard him. He climbed into bed with a horrible looking book on black magic like it was a volume of fairytales.

Although to be fair, sometimes there wasn't a lot of difference between books of black magic and fairytales.

"Good night, kiddo."

"Good night, Dad."

Meanwhile, Neron's agent on Earth wasn't in the mood to remain dormant and undetected. He'd already broken with his master's desires by attacking one victim not of his choosing, and he was itching to use his infernal new abilities in the service of his own personal vendetta.

He had no intention to wait until the teenagers were ready for him.

A/N: Sorry it's so short! Considering some of you have been waiting over a year for this update, I'd been hoping to make it a nice long one. But it was starting to look like another year was going to pass before I got to a decent word count, so I figured something was better than nothing. I'll try my best to have another update along as quickly as inspiration will let me.

Thank you so much to anyone still reading. Your support and friendly words have been a comfort 3