Faced with Detective Chimp's questioning, Ragman Rory lowered his head. Squatting beside the corpse and staring at the blood, he said softly:
"I'm sorry. I just really had no other choice."
"That's not the issue, my friend." With a pipe clenched between his teeth, Detective Chimp used a small plastic bag to collect the white ash left behind by the dead Vultures. "You were just deceived by The Spectre back then. We all understand your faith in God, so there was no need for you to leave the team. It wasn't your fault. But you still left without saying goodbye. You didn't trust us. Did you think we'd kill you for betraying us?"
"No. I just made the same mistake as my ancestors. Betrayal." Rory touched the bandages around his body as countless souls screamed in agony inside his mind. "I'm an ill-omened man. Staying with you would only bring everyone harm."
Bobo put away his magnifying glass. There was truly nothing to be gleaned from the pecked-over corpse, other than that the stripping of its flesh from the bones had likely been some unusual magical phenomenon. He blew out a smoke ring and straightened up.
"Jim died. Blue Devil died too. The Shadow Pact Squad took in new members after you left. But if you want to use your abilities to do good, you could consider Justice League Dark."
As he spoke, the chimp pointed toward Diana, who stood nearby with sword and shield in hand, remaining vigilant.
Ragman looked at Wonder Woman. With Deathstroke absent, her intelligence rose sharply. She had no reservations simply because Rory was Batwoman's close subject of observation, and directly raised the question.
"When did you find the body?"
"Earlier tonight. I don't have a watch or phone, and my mind was a mess,