The Night Falls again.

The tower was silent and the darkness surrounding it was absolute. A lone figure appeared for a moment as a streetlight figured, but like a shadow in the light, he was gone. The door to the tower was opened, then closed without a sound. A figure staggered in, unseen by the tower's sophisticated security systems. His movements showed him to be in great pain, yet they remained fluid and almost graceful. Despite this, the tower should have picked up on him, it would have picked up on any other intruder. Perhaps this figure was no intruder... He gasped in pain, and fell towards the wall, catching himself on it just before impact. As he pushed away, a light outside the window flickered just long enough to illuminate the sickly dark outline of a crimson handprint left behind on the wall. The figure made it a few more steps before collapsing with an uncharacteristic resounding crash as his body hit the coffee table, shattering the solidly constructed wood. The figure lay unmoving and facedown: a red pool slowly appearing beneath him. Silent Night had once again fallen upon Jump City.

"No." A gurgle arose from Zack's throat, and the madman coughed up a glob of blood, which splattered on the reinforced glass panel in front of him. "I'm just talking to myself right now. You know how beautiful my voice is." He chuckled weakly. Zack looked far worse than usual. His jacket was frayed and cut, and in several places was splattered with blood - whether it was Zack's or not was anybody's guess. His hair, normally slicked back against his skull, was now plastered across his face via blood and sweat. His hair was never down, and was actually surprisingly long - His bangs went past his chin, though it got progressively shorter as it went back and was only half an inch or so just above the back of his neck. Dried blood still caked his skin, and all that remained of his tee shirt were reddish scraps of cloth - some plastered to him, others hanging loosely from his frame. His chest bore several new gashes and bullet wounds, allowing the metal of his armor to glint through the blood in places. His weapons were still in place, though they too showed signs of wear and overuse - both guns were empty and scratched, and his knife was covered in dried blood. "Where am I?" Zack looked around painfully, the hysteria in his voice as weak as the rest of him. "Ah... Damn. I hate this room."

Zack was back, which was a huge relief to Kunoichi. Well he had came back in a horrible condition which made her worry even more. She was just glad he was back. She had seen Ben carry Zack into the medical room as Fourarms.

A little while later she walked in to check on him, and saw Ben still in the room.
"How is he?" she asked, as she walked closer to see Zack was awake. Thank goodness.

Zack chuckled weakly. "Where have I been? Ah... a fun question, a fun question indeed. And how to answer? Perhaps I should answer..." Zack stopped talking to himself for a moment and stared at Kunoichi and Ben. "What I am about to say is very important. I made sure I wasn't followed, despite failing my end quest. I went looking for L.A.W., and I found it. Or at least some of it. Certainly more of it than I expected to find, though they will have torched that facility by now. They don't see either of you as important enough to wast resources capturing. I want it to stay that way. I know I'm hard on all of you, but there's a reason for it. L.A.W. is the very essence of the horror that men are capable of. They show no mercy, and give no quarter. They will kill you without hesitation. And if you're lucky, that's all they'll do. You two... All of you... You are the only people I really trust. I may not trust the newer additions, but I don't know them. And that doesn't mean I won't look after them. I worry about you, all of you. Even those who think they are free, the rouge villains wandering the streets, their cruelty may only be a fraction of L.A.W.s but they will still gladly kill you. L.A.W. doesn't know I'm here, and they don't know about you guys. Keep it that way, for your own safety." Zack coughed again. "And Ben, we still need to talk alone at some point. There is something I need to discuss with you. But not now, it will have to wait."

Kunoichi listened intently to her leader as he explained his absence, so he had come face to face with some members from LAW. To Kunoichi that was a terrifying thought.

Zack was trying to keep them safe from LAW's grasp, that made her feel a bit reassured. It didn't get rid of the idea of what if one day they were to collide, what then. She didnt even want to think about it.
She looked up at him as he finished talking, telling Ben they needed to talk.

"Now you just need to worry on healing, dont force yourself." She said with a smile. "Glad to have you back."

Zack coughed. They were leaving him alone for now. "Bah, don't worry about me! I feel like a million bucks!" After a split second he added a muttered "That are about to be taken out of circulation..." He sighed. Alone again. He hated the alone. He looked around his sarcophagus, for that is what it felt like. It was fitting, a tomb for a man long since dead. He was alone in his tomb, only the clicking of machinery to grate against his shattered sanity. He hated the alone. He looked around the empty room, past the splattering of crimson across the glass. He was alone with the voices again. He hated the alone. He couldn't sleet. The screams kept him up. He ground his teeth and tried not to think about the nightmares. "Alone again... But never truly alone, no. My sins are more than happy to haunt me." He sighed. This was going to be a LONG recovery...

(mind if Cap visits briefly? Zack is very imprtant to her)

ooc: Go for it! Zack is happy to know he means something to others, and the more the merrier! XD

Capricious stood in the doorway, watching her leader with sad eyes.
He meant a lot to her, he had saved her, given her hope, a home, a family.
She would be forever grateful.
Seeing him so...weak...damn near killed her.
So Julie decided to try to talk to him.
"Zack? You still awake?" she asked softly, entering the room.
"You can even call me Girlie if you like, I don't mind. Zackie." she smiled slightly.
"You might not like hearing this, but you're my leader and I am so thankful for you." By now she was standing next to his place, looking anywhere but him.
"No matter what happens, I will always respect you. And admire you. Nothing could change that."

The pain was so real, just as it always was. Zack looked around. Again, he was strapped to that table. Again, were the surgeons, as cold as the steel Zack was pinned to, as cold as the blades in their hands. Again, he felt the terrible darkness, the crushing solitude, the maddening sound of blood drops landing in a collection vat, one after another, never ending and never ceasing. Again he heard the sound of the whirring saw blade, and again his heart pounded in terror. Again he struggled against his restraints, but his frail body was no match for them. Again, he could only stare in horror through lidless eyes as the whirring blade descended, denied even the solace of closing his eyes. Again he felt the cold steel bite into his skull. Quite suddenly he was aware of a voice. Something calling him back, a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. Zack's grin seemed far more a strained grimace as his eyes snapped open - for even in sleep his rictus grin would not leave him be. "Zack?" he heard. "You still awake?" Zack blinked, trying to clear his vision. His eyes stung from the blood and sweat, but compared to the rest of him, it was nothing. Slowly, the blur of lights and shadows that was his view swam into focus, and through the blood spattered glass pane he saw Julie. "Tcha... I appreciate it Love." Zack said at last. He wasn't very good with emotional moments. "I'm just sorry you're stuck with me as a leader. No one deserves to live so near a monster." His words were spiteful, but then they softened as he continued. "You know you lot are all I have. You say you're thankful... You've done more for me than you'll ever know."

"No one said leaders were perfect. And the most important thing is that you would do anything for your team, as we would for you. I would. Without you I'd have nothing, I wouldn't have been a Titan, I wouldn't have Ben. You gave me a home and family. I can't ever repay you fully." the Titan sat opposit him on a chair.
"The 'Goverment' got me, too. You know. I got lucky. They were still trying to break me when one assistant helped me escape. He died for it, of course. That was two years ago, but I still see it at night. Like it's happenning again. So, to an extent, I can understand you. I just wish that I could help you."

Zack stared off into space. He was honestly glad for the company. It kept him up, kept him occupied, and it didn't hurt that it was actually someone he enjoyed the company of. "That's where we're different, Julie. They were trying to break you. You escaped far earlier than I did. I'm too far gone... You all saw what happened in the training room... Jak Sage has seen it too. We... We went after a villain named Malferrus. I couldn't stop then either." Zack sighed. "Monsters like me... There's only one fate for us. And I accept mine wholly. Before I joined the Titans there were two reasons I was still alive. L.A.W. still stood, and I hadn't found anyone who could kill me. Understand, I'm not suicidal. I won't simply lay down and die. If I am killed, it will be in combat with an opponent who is my better." There was a long pause. "I honestly don't know how you could help any more so than you already have Julie... The things in my mind, the visions that haunt me... I wouldn't wish them on my most hated enemy... Not like this. Not every night, time and time again... Not to relive the past every time one's eyes close. The things I've seen, the things I've DONE... I'm beyond help Julie. Just learn all you can before I'm gone."