Leo opened the door, a confident smile on his face, and greeted the beautiful intruder. "Hello, beautiful."

Selina made a quick assessment, her gaze locking onto Tom. She didn't reply to Leo but directed her attention to Tom, "Hey handsome, haven't seen you around in a while."

"Let's just say I've been quite busy." He responded.

Selina, ever the tease, prodded further. "Really now? I was beginning to think you were avoiding me. You haven't been to the bar in quite some time, neither did you call. You didn't even do as much as sending a text."

Leo, who was clearly vying for her attention, couldn't help but interject with a flirty remark and a wry smile. "Playing hard to get, are we now? I get it…" He said as he took one more glance at her alluring curves.

Unfazed by Leo's antics, Selina shifted her focus back at Tom as she continued her playful banter. "Well, are you going to make a beautiful lady stand here all day, or are you going to invite me in?"

…

In the dimly lit medbay of the Justice League's headquarters, the tension hung heavy in the air. Flash lay motionless on a pristine white bed, his costume tattered and his face etched with exhaustion. The room's sterile, metallic surfaces bore silent witness to the horrors Barry had endured during his captivity in Lex Luthor's lab of horrors.

Batman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman stood just outside the medical room, their relief palpable. They had just successfully extracted their speedster teammate from the clutches of Lex Luthor, but the condition they found him was tear breaking . Aquaman and Wonder Woman shared a fleeting, knowing glance before departing, leaving Batman alone.

Within the confines of the medbay, Barry's eyelids fluttered as he slowly regained consciousness. His vision was still a blur, and he struggled to make out his surroundings. As his senses gradually sharpened, he saw a familiar figure seated beside his bed. It was Iris, her worried eyes filled with tears of both relief and worry. She held Barry's hand in a gentle, loving grip.

On the other side of the room, Bart, Barry's speedster protégé, slumbered in an awkwardly contorted position in a chair. His young face, usually bursting with boundless energy, was now etched with exhaustion.

He looked over to see Wally at the side, pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. He seemed burdened, and his agitated movements wasn't helping matters .

As Barry's blurred vision gradually cleared, he turned his head again to Iris, her eyes red-rimmed from hours of anxious waiting. He managed a weak smile, "Iris... I'm home." His voice was raspy, barely more than a whisper.

Iris leaned in, her voice filled with emotion, "Barry, you have no idea how worried we were since the moment you went missing. We were worried sick that we might have lost already, but I never gave up hope."

Bart stirred in his sleep, mumbling something incoherent. Wally, his pacing momentarily halted, glanced at Barry as the sudden sense of relief washed through him. "Glad to see you're awake, buddy," Wally said, his voice laced with the mutual feeling of relief that coursed through the room.

Barry blinked, struggling to stay conscious . "Thanks, Wally."

Batman, who had been quietly observing the heart felt reunion through the window, stepped inside the room. His gravelly voice cut through the room as he spoke, "Welcome back, Barry. We'll debrief you on all that has happened since your disappearance. It can wait until you're stronger, but for now, focus only on recovery."

Barry nodded weakly, his eyelids heavy. As his eyes closed, he felt the warmth of his family around him, providing solace from the traumatizing memories from his time in captivity.

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….

[Lex Luthor's POV]

In the early hours of the morning, Lex Luthor was seated in his opulent dining room, savoring a sumptuous breakfast. The aroma of the delectable food wafted through the air, enticing the senses of his private security personals who stood watch nearby.

The sound of high heels spelled the approaching presence of a female even before Mercy walked into the room, clenching on to her ipad. "Oh Mercy, right on time." He welcomed her as his chef poured him a glass of red wine.

"I wish it was a good morning sir, but I am afraid I've got bad news." Mercy said as she prepared his mind for the news she was about to report to him.

"What? Can't anyone do anything right without me getting involved for God's sake?" Lex exasperated. She reported the update of the Flash's rescue and he was as pissed as the day his mansion got robbed.

His team of scientists just needed a little more time and they would have been able to harness the power generated within the Flash's cells. He was going to use it as a power source for the mother box along with the League's Watchtower so he could control the power output and range.

He intends to extend his psychic reach to neighboring planets, conquering the minds of both earth's residents and majority of our neighbors, far and wide.

Almost like putting their minds into a trance or an hypnotic state, where they suddenly acknowledged him as their one and rightfully ruler.

Now that the Flash was gone, Lex's only viable option was to rely on the League's Watchtower to amplify his psychic signals. But now he needed to come up with an alternative he could use as the primary power source for his psychic device and the modified mother box.

However, this came with a grave risk. Using the Watchtower to broadcast the amplified psychic wave and involving the mother box without close enough inspection, could potentially lead to an hellish outcome if it got overwritten during the process.

Reminiscent of the apocalypse that had occurred years ago as images from that night flashed back in his mind . It was during that crisis that they had acquired a damaged mother box, leading to the subsequent modifications that Lex hoped would now grant him control.

…

[Selina Kyle's POV]

I showed up at Tom's door step, wondering where he had been over the past few months. I catch glances of him taking occasional strolls most evenings when I am on rooftops, but he's not spoken to me since the last time we had a conversation that was more on the personal side. This had me think he might actually be avoiding me.

So I came to break the ice if there was one, which was kind of ironic because Leonard Snart a.k.a Captain Cold, was the one to open the door to Tom's house.

"Someone's hanging with the wrong crowd." I muttered under my breath.

I walked right into the house, as I took a seat in the living room, grabbed the remote and making myself at home.

"Great, make yourself at home." Tom sarcastically remarked.

"Thanks. You know, when a lady comes to your place, it's courtesy that you offer her something to drink. An actual drink this time and not coffee like last time." I playfully chided Tom, my tone suggestive.

"Ooo… Last time." Snart chimed in with a teasing grin, amused by his twisted imagination.

Tom was about answering him when he stopped and suddenly turned to the kitchen. "Hey Jase, those sandwiches aren't yours. Put them down and make your own breakfast." I looked to the kitchen only for it to seem like my eyes were playing tricks on me, I saw a blast from the past, like I was staring at a reincarnated ghost or something.

Robin, Batman's adoptive son who was thought to have been dead at the hands of Joker, was right there in Tom's kitchen, snacking on sandwiches.

"Hey!!!" Tom yelled. Suddenly, the plate of sandwiches, even the one he had in his hand, all flew through the air and to the living room. Right into Tom's hands.

"What gives man!" Jason exclaimed, Snart burst into laughter while I was still surprised with the revelation of him being alive.

The refrigerator's door opened without any physical , as a bottle of red wine and two glasses flew to the table right in the middle of the living room.

"Tom." Snart subtly called out as he tried to caution me for unnecessary using my powers in the presence of an outsider.

"Don't worry, she already knows I have powers." Tom said to him before serving me a glass of wine. Jason however, glanced at me then went up stairs, acting like he didn't recognize me even the slightest bit. Which made me wonder if he lost his memories or if he was just faking it.

If I wasn't as experienced as I was, I would have been fooled by his little act.

"So, what exactly are you doing here? I thought you only stepped out of your bar at midnight." Tom asked me.

I laughed at his comment before giving him a teasing response. "I'm no vampire, you know that right?"

"I don't know, sounds like what a vampire would say." He jokingly replied.

"I see you still have your humor. Well too bad because I am just here to pay a visit to a friend, you of course." I said to him before taking a sip of wine from my glass.

"There's a Christmas party coming up this weekend, why don't you show up for it. It's a night party and hopefully we'll be able to catch up on whatever mischief you've been up to lately." I persuasively extended an invitation for a party Harley was throwing. She had finally gotten over Joker and intended to have as much fun without him as possible, without getting arrested again of course.

"Sorry but I can't promise that I would go to the party, I have a lot on my plate already." Tom replied as he attempted to turn down my invitation.

"Come on Tom, it's a party. When was the last time you actually had some fun, it would be good to let off some steam and reboot that brain of yours." Snart tried persuading him.

"You know what they say, all work without play makes Jack a dull boy. Now let's grease that mega brain of yours with some fun, alcohol and girls." He kept on pushing.

"Come on Tommy, you heard him." I leaned on his arm as I teased.

In the end, Tom relented. "Okay, fine. I'll go, only because it's been a while since I had some actual social fun. And also, I remember telling you to stop with the nicknames," he added, emphasizing his appreciation for using his actual name.

Then again, I think he actually is anti-social. Which young male wouldn't want to go for a night party filled with girls and alcohol.

Snart turned to me, satisfied with Tom's response as a mischievous grin slowly crept across his cheeks.