Serling's apartment stillvsmelled faintly of roasted coffee. The curtains were half drawn, casting the city lights all over the floor.
Artemis sat on the edge of the coffee table—tightening her bowstring with practiced precision, a focused frown on her face.
Zane stood by the window, arms crossed, watching the city, deep in thought.
"I'll circle around the block, check the rooftops, maybe they left something we could use," Artemis said, standing. "We meet up at the coordinates in thirty?"
"Thirty," Zane echoed, eyes still distant.
She hesitated. "You okay?"
"Just thinking."
"Don't think too hard. We've got a window before they move her again. Let's not waste it."
With that, she slung her quiver over her shoulder and left, the door clicking shut behind her.
Zane stayed still.
Silence settled.
The ticking of the wall clock grew louder with every second.
He exhaled.
"…Sorry," he whispered to the empty room.
Then he left.
Not through the door.
---
Back Alley, Minutes Later
Zane stood alone in an alley near Serling's building. The wind stirred trash at his feet. He looked down at the syringe in his hand—fast-acting, painless.
"One more time," he muttered.
He drove the needle in.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
---
REWIND
---
Two Days Ago
Zane gasped awake on a mattress in his base, heart pounding. Same as before.
He sat up slowly, rubbing his face.
'Two days. That's all I have. Just two days.'
He could'nt go back further. After all, he can only set one checkpoint at a time, and this happens to be his latest one.
He started setting checkpoints closer to his 'present time'. He prefers this over going back too far again.
Because going further meant reliving old conversations, old smiles, old jokes. Fake memories. Fake chemistry.
Artemis laughing at a joke he already told.
Having conversation's hes had a few times already.
It wasn't real. It wasn't earned. It felt almost fake to him.
He wasn't willing to live in a loop anymore. Faking reactions he's already had once, it didnt feel good.
So he chose to set checkpoints closer now. If something mattered, he'd carry the scars.
And if the cost was messiness? So be it.
Thats what he thought, he hopes he doesnt live to regret it.
Time to hunt.
....
Serling's Home.
Zane pushed the door open. Hoping this could have a simple ending. That she'd be here. That he could intercept Cadmus.
The hinges gave a protesting creak.
Inside, the apartment was exactly as he'd left it—destroyed.
Zane frowned.
"Fuck."
Furniture still overturned. Broken glass glinting in the dim light.
No signs of Serling.
No signs of anyone.
Zane stood still for a moment, scanning everything again with sharpened eyes. The air was stale. Whatever had happened here—it hadn't been recent.
'So they kidnapped her way before she sent me the distress call. But why so far back? What's the goal in waiting so long before triggering the call?
Did they need more time to set up whatever trap they're planning? Then why even take her if the trap wasn't ready?'
His brow furrowed. He didn't understand.
'Okay, what do I know? Cadmus definitely knows I'm in Star City. They know Serling helped remove the tracker. I guess her stalling only worked for a little while, and they must've traced it back to her.
Instead of coming for me directly, they want to lure me with her. But then why wait so long? The longer they stay here, the greater the risk of the Justice League interfering.
Why risk it... unless they're testing me.'
A setup.
Not to kill him. Not yet—but to watch him.
---
Unknown Observation Room
Footage played on a wide monitor—Zane kneeling in the wrecked apartment, muttering to himself, eyes scanning like radar.
Lex Luthor watched silently, arms folded, flanked by Dr. Desmond.
"It's like you said," Desmond muttered, uneasy. "Somehow, he knew to come to her apartment even though we haven't sent the distress call yet."
Lex didn't answer immediately. He kept watching, rewound a few seconds. Zoomed in on Zane's expression—the exact moment realization hit him.
Not a guess.
A certainty.
"We've seen this before," Lex murmured. "Back when he fought KGBeast."
Desmond stiffened.
"You mean—?"
"We studied every angle of that encounter," Lex continued, voice even. "Frame by frame. No wasted movement. Perfect counters. He reacted to attacks before they were even visible. Not once. Repeatedly."
He turned slightly, eyes cold.
"Not even a computer could predict the chaos of that battle. Intelligence couldn't have saved him."
"So… what are you saying?" Desmond asked, though he already knew.
Lex's gaze returned to the screen.
"I thought he was gifted with hyper-cognition at first. But now?" He tapped the monitor once.
"I think he sees the future."
Silence.
Then he added, "Whether it's seconds, minutes... or more—we're not dealing with intellect. We're dealing with foresight."
He exhaled quietly.
"And that makes him infinitely more dangerous."
"How do you catch someone off guard if he knows all your moves?" Desmond asked.
"Exactly how we caught his friend without him knowing immediately," Luthor replied with quiet arrogance. "His precognition seems to be limited to his point of view."
"Otherwise, he would've been there the moment we kidnapped Serling."
There were still tests to be done—limits to be found.
But Lex never thought he would lose.
Not for a second.
His intellect would outshine even the future.
Desmond swallowed. "What now?"
Lex adjusted his cufflink, then spoke without looking away.
"Prepare the site."
Desmond blinked. "You think he'll actually find it?"
Lex's voice was absolute.
"I have a feeling he knows exactly where to go."
....
'The address they wrote down last time, thats most likley where the trap is. If they suspect anything about my powers, its most likley already prepared.
Fuck it, Im not letting them get their way."
Zane switched the robo arm to grappling mode, his overcoat billowing as he stepped onto the edge of a derelict rooftop.
'They want me to walk in blind. And I will, atleast this time.'
FWIP—THUNK.
The grappling hook fired clean into a billboard scaffold across the street. He vaulted over the alley, boots hitting steel with a clang before swinging to the next ledge.
"Good ol' rooftops. The poor man's Batmobile."
He went back to some simple humor to calm himself.
The city blurred beneath him—streets, neon signs, satellite dishes, cracked concrete. It was raining now, just enough to slick the shingles and make everything inconvenient.
He didn't slow.
He thought about calling Artemis for backup, but he didnt want to risk anymore people.
The address they gave him led to an abandoned transit hub beneath the city. A maze of old train tunnels and forgotten maintenance platforms. Prime spot for traps—tight quarters, low visibility, multiple elevation layers, and god knows how many exits.
'Of course they picked the villain lair starter pack.'
Zane landed hard on the roof of the building above the entrance, crouched and peering down at the semmingly normal entrance.
He didnt feel like taking the normal entrance.
He aimed his grappling arm at a rusted support beam three floors below and fired.
FWIP—THUNK.
The moment it latched, he jumped—sliding along the wire, flipping midair, and landing against the side wall with a muted grunt.
Clinging there, Spider-style, he peeked through a broken window.
Three goons with rifles. One camera on swivel. A tripwire connected to… what looked like C4 duct-taped to a vending machine.
"Huh. Exploding snacks. Real original."
He dropped a flash pellet down.
BANG!
Yells. Chaos. Movement.
Zane jumped in through the window, dropping one guard with a clean strike from his robo arm, now in its stun mode, to the neck.
Another swung wildly—Zane ducked, grabbed his collar, and spun him into the third like bowling pins.
They hit the wall hard.
He stood over them, breathing slow.
"I'm gonna be real upset if Serling's not here."
He looked around the dark hallway ahead. Dust, debris, ominous silence.
They were watching. He didn't need to be a prophet to know that much.
'Come on then', he thought, stepping forward. 'Let's play.'