LOOTING DC #23. Mount Justice
Kid Flash triggered the tripwire just before noticing the filament stretched across the corridor. Instantly, laser beams ignited a deadly grid, and darts fired from hidden slots, striking his suit with precise, paralyzing venom. Vibrating his molecules, he fought the numbness spreading through his limbs - but the hallway temperature dropped sharply, ice spreading beneath his feet, making every step treacherous. The trap wasn't just meant to catch him - it was designed to bait his speed and turn it deadly.
Two floors above, Damian Wayne moved through a briefing room turned death trap. The ceiling lowered silently, lined with blades measuring his footsteps' rhythm. He smirked and leapt. The tile collapsed beneath him, dropping him two floors into a chamber glowing with shifting laser beams, adjusting dynamically to punish impatience and hesitation. "Father thinks I'm reckless," he muttered. "Let's prove him wrong." He danced through the beams with practiced precision - but the system adapted, becoming almost sentient, exploiting his smallest hesitation.
In the med-bay, Superboy dragged a biohazard crate when the lights died and Batman's voice echoed: "Your strength is predictable. Locate the target - without destroying the room." The floor beneath him jolted with escalating electric shocks punishing each misstep. Heat vision revealed false targets everywhere. Frustrated, Conner struck a wall - only to be blasted back by a concussive wave, wind knocked from his lungs.
In the narrow intake tunnels, Kaldur swam steadily until a steel grate sealed off retreat. The water level dropped, squeezing his space. Armed drones rose, firing electrified nets to incapacitate. He twisted and dodged but the shrinking space and fading oxygen wore him down. A shock seized his arm, throwing him against the wall as the drones closed in.
Elsewhere, M'gann sat, fingers pressed to her temples, drowning in overwhelming psychic static - layers of voices crashing over her mind. Attempts to phase through failed; the lead-lined chamber blocked all escape.
Mount Justice had become a crucible of suffering.
In the control room, high above the chaos, two senior members of the Justice League found the man standing over the console, eyes fixed on the multiple screens overhead.
Superman was the first to speak, his voice low and edged with anger. "What exactly do you think you're doing, Bruce?"
Wonder Woman stood beside him, her arms folded tightly across her chest, her tone colder, more cutting. "They're just kids. You've turned them into test subjects."
Batman didn't turn to face them immediately. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm, composed - unapologetically firm. "We've been coddling them. They face threats that won't wait for permission or pull their punches. If we don't harden them now, we send them out to die."
Superman's jaw tightened. "That's not what we agreed to when we let you take the lead on their training. This-" he gestured to the monitors "-this isn't discipline. It's cruelty."
Batman remained motionless. "I'm not punishing them. I'm preparing them. I'm showing them the world they're already part of. The world they're not yet ready to survive."
"That's not your call alone," Diana said, her voice now commanding, each syllable heavy with the weight of her authority. "End the simulation, Bruce. Now."
A thick silence settled over the room, the tension drawn taut like a wire pulled to its breaking point.
Without a word, Batman reached for the console, inputting a sequence with swift, practiced motions. He pulled a lever.
The simulation halted instantly. Lights throughout the simulations dimmed to their default settings. The walls folded away. The traps disengaged. One by one, the Team members were transported to the Break Room - disoriented, battered, but conscious.
"There," Batman said at last, his tone devoid of satisfaction. "I've shown them what they needed to see anyway."
He turned and walked toward the exit, his cape sweeping behind him.
Superman and Wonder Woman exchanged a glance. Neither said a word, but the shake of their heads spoke volumes. He had gone too far. Again.
But before Bruce disappeared completely into the hallway, his voice echoed back toward them - measured, sharp, and unforgiving. "And if you're so worried about children being tortured... maybe take a moment to remember Subject One-Double-Zero."
The impact of the reference landed immediately. Clark's posture stiffened; Diana's eyes narrowed. Their righteous anger flickered - for just a moment - into something else.
Guilt.
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Everyone in the Break Room wore their exhaustion in different ways. Superboy sat rigidly, his jaw clenched and eyes burning with silent frustration. Kid Flash, ever the jester in tense moments, cracked a half-hearted joke that didn't land, then slouched deeper into his seat. Kaldur seemed caught in a distant trance, his gaze unfocused, as though his mind was still navigating that flooded corridor. Miss Martian hovered near the far wall, arms wrapped around herself, visibly shaken, her emotions too loud to hide.
And then there was Damian - unchanged, unbothered. If anything, he looked energized. Focused. Even a little satisfied.
This sort of thing felt natural to him. Almost familiar.
"I'll do better next time," he said, his tone quiet but resolute, as though already strategizing.
"Next time?" M'gann turned on him sharply, her voice rising in disbelief. "There isn't going to be a next time!"
"She's right," Kid Flash added, throwing his arms up. "What the hell was Batman even thinking? He nearly flash-froze my entire lower half!" He gestured toward his legs, which still tingled with residual numbness.
Damian didn't flinch. "Did you forget when I told you to expect hell? That was the introduction."
"No," Kaldur said, his voice colder than usual, his Atlantean accent sharpening with anger. "That wasn't training. That was psychological warfare. And it ends now. I don't care what protocols are in place - this training with Batman is over."
"Suit yourselves," Damian replied with a shrug, entirely unmoved. "But if you ask me, it was the first effective session we've had in weeks. Boring drills don't prepare you for ambushes or trauma. This exposed your individual weaknesses - and maybe that's what some of you needed."
The room went quiet, tension tightening like a coil - until a familiar voice cut through it, light and unmistakably smug.
"Well, well… you all look like you're having the time of your lives."
Every head turned toward the doorway.
"I'm almost jealous I declined the invite."
Kid Flash's eyes widened in recognition even before the figure stepped fully into view - tall, confident, a bow slung casually over one shoulder. He almost forgot the lingering numbness in his legs.
"Speedy," he breathed, blinking in disbelief. "Where the heck have you been, man?"
"It's Red Arrow now," Roy corrected.
Red Arrow - real name Roy Harper, former protégé of Green Arrow, and one-time Team member - strode into the room. He was taller than most of them, sleek and solid, radiating a calm, older presence. Even behind the mask, he looked like he'd seen more than his share.
"Thought you teamed up with Nightwing and his band of misfits," Damian said, sounding more betrayed than curious.
"Charming as ever," Roy replied coolly. "Good to see you too, Robin."
"Have you finally decided to rejoin the Team?" Kaldur asked, tone steadying.
"Would love to," Roy said with a lopsided grin. "But you don't exactly look shorthanded."
His eyes swept the room - pausing on Superboy and Miss Martian. Both looked battered and worn.
"This is Miss Martian and Superboy," Kid Flash offered. Then, turning to them, he added, "Speedy - uh, Red Arrow."
"You didn't just wander in," Damian said sharply. "Why are you here?"
Roy's demeanor shifted, voice hardening into a tactical tone.
"I've got a mission. That is, if you're up for it."
"Are you kidding?" Kid Flash said, forcing himself upright. "We've never been in better shape."
"What's the mission?" Kaldur asked.
"I've got intel on suspicious activity on Oolong Island," Roy said. "Concrete proof: unauthorized experiments on meta-humans. Someone's trying to weaponize the meta-gene - biochemically."
He tossed a drive over to Damien. "There's ties to the League."
A shadow passed over Damian's face. "League of Shadows?" His voice was quieter than usual.
"Sounds dangerous," Kid Flash muttered.
"Batman wouldn't approve our involvement," Kaldur warned.
"Still playing sidekick, huh?" Roy said, unimpressed.
"On the contrary," Kaldur replied, standing tall. "This is our call. And I say we go."
Roy smiled. "We leave at midnight."
Damian blinked, distant memories flickering behind his eyes.
"Guess we're going to Oolong," he murmured.
Streak? Day 1/10
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