Alex had spent the past few weeks farther and farther away from Mount Justice.
Not because he had stopped considering the team his family, but because the questions inside him had become too large to ignore. Ever since he had regained his energy form, his perception had expanded far beyond Earth. He could sense things he hadn't even known existed before: currents of energy moving through space, subtle gravitational disturbances, radiation coming from distant stars, and, from time to time, that strange frequency that seemed to recognize him.
The same frequency he had encountered at the old observation post.
That night, Alex was sitting on a rocky formation on the Moon, looking at Earth hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.
He didn't need to breathe.
He didn't need to sleep.
He didn't need a suit to protect his body from the lack of pressure or extreme temperatures.
His energy form simply remained there, motionless, while the luminous structures of his wings floated behind him.
In the distance, a small League spacecraft descended onto the lunar surface.
Alex looked up.
The hatch opened, and a figure stepped out.
Dick Grayson was wearing a lightweight League spacesuit, equipped with life support, communications, and radiation protection. It wasn't particularly bulky; it was designed to allow League members to move through environments without an atmosphere without sacrificing mobility.
Dick walked a few meters and looked at Alex.
"I knew you'd be here."
Alex didn't need to turn around to recognize him.
"How did you find me?"
Dick pointed at his suit.
"I have technology."
Alex let out a small laugh.
"That's not what I meant."
"Then I guess I just know you."
Alex smiled.
"That sounds more like you."
Dick sat down on a nearby rock. The suit made a faint sound as he settled in.
For a few seconds, they both silently watched Earth.
From that distance, it looked peaceful.
Beautiful.
As if nothing could ever harm it.
"Are you coming back?" Dick finally asked.
Alex took a moment to answer.
"Yes."
"That didn't sound very convincing."
"Because I don't know when."
Dick looked at him through his visor.
"What are you planning?"
Alex stared into space.
"There's something out there. I've been following it for a while. I don't know what it is, where it comes from, or why it seems to react whenever I get close."
"And you want to follow it."
"I need to."
Dick remained silent for a few seconds.
"You could investigate it from here."
"No."
"Why?"
Alex finally looked at him.
"Because every time I find an answer, three new questions appear. And if I keep staying here waiting for something to happen, I'm going to end up ignoring what I really came here to find."
Dick lowered his gaze toward Earth.
"You don't have to do this alone."
Alex smiled slightly.
"I know."
"Then come back to us when you can."
"I will."
Dick stood up.
"Promise?"
Alex looked at Earth again.
"Promise."
Dick began walking toward the spacecraft, but before he got too far, he stopped.
"Alex."
"Yeah?"
"Don't forget that you have a place here too."
Alex looked at him for a few seconds.
"I won't forget."
Dick entered the spacecraft, and the hatch closed.
Alex remained alone.
Earth was glowing in front of him.
Superman, Batman, the team, the League, and everyone who had become part of his new life were there.
But so were the answers he still didn't have.
Alex slowly spread his energy wings.
"See you again."
His body transformed into a stream of light.
And disappeared into space.
---
The first few months were difficult.
Alex had learned to travel vast distances, but he still didn't know how to properly interpret everything he perceived. Sometimes he would follow a signal for days only to discover that it was a dying star. Other times, he would find remnants of alien technology that had nothing to do with the frequency he was searching for.
But little by little, he learned.
He learned to distinguish an artificial signal from a natural one, recognize gravitational patterns, travel across enormous distances without losing his bearings, and control his wings more effectively.
He also learned to absorb small amounts of energy without allowing it to disrupt his structure.
And, above all, he learned to observe.
He didn't need to interfere with everything he encountered.
Sometimes, he simply watched.
Unknown worlds.
Distant civilizations.
Ships traveling between star systems.
Conflicts that never even became aware of his existence.
And, on more than one occasion, traces of Reach technology.
That was what kept his attention.
The Reach appeared again and again in different places across space.
But there was always something that didn't add up.
The same energy anomaly appeared near some of their records, although he could never determine whether they had created it or had simply discovered it.
Alex kept investigating.
A year passed.
Then another.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, things changed.
The team continued to grow.
The missions became more dangerous.
The Reach began to exert an increasingly greater influence over the planet.
Alex kept in contact from time to time, although less and less frequently.
Brief messages.
Reports.
The occasional conversation with Superman.
An argument with Batman whenever Alex insisted that a particular anomaly didn't match any known Reach technology.
And a few calls with Dick.
He never forgot his promise.
But he never returned either.
Until that day.
---
Alex was several star systems away when he felt the disturbance.
He stopped dead.
That frequency.
The same one.
But this time, it was much stronger.
Alex closed his eyes.
His perception expanded.
The signal traveled through the void.
Across planets.
Across systems.
Across distances his old human mind could never have imagined.
And then he found its source.
Earth.
Alex opened his eyes.
"No..."
A second signal appeared.
Then a third.
His perception reached the planet and saw enormous energy disturbances spreading across its surface.
The Reach devices.
Alex immediately understood what they were doing.
Earth's magnetic field was being pushed to its limits.
But then he detected three other signatures moving around the device.
Three speedsters.
Alex recognized Barry.
He recognized Bart.
And then he recognized Wally.
For nearly two years, he had searched for answers across space.
In that instant, none of them mattered anymore.
Alex spread his wings.
"I have to go back."
His body became pure energy.
And he tore through space.