The observation room of the Watchtower was a cavern of cold steel and glass, suspended high above Earth like a silent sentinel. The curved panoramic windows framed the void beyond, their blackness broken only by the shimmer of distant starlight. Inside, the low hum of advanced technology filled the still air.
A massive holo-screen dominated the far wall, casting flickering blue and orange light over the four figures before it — Batman, Martian Manhunter, Zane, and Artemis.
The screen zoomed in on a city gripped by chaos. Flames engulfed buildings, and arcs of wild, crackling magic tore through the night sky. At the center of it all was Klarion the Witch Boy, his tattered robes billowing as he danced through the destruction with a manic grin.
Batman's eyes narrowed. "Klarion's rampage in Hub City is escalating fast. His magic doesn't discriminate — infrastructure, civilians, everything's collateral."
Martian Manhunter's voice was calm but firm. "Containment must be immediate. His power is too unstable for negotiation. Desmond will have to wait for now."
Zane, leaning casually against a console, smirked. "Thats dissapointing, was kinda hoping to learn a few more things.'
Artemis frowned but stayed silent. The longer they wait the higher the chance of Desmond finding her tracker.
Batman turned sharply to them. "Artemis. Zane. You're staying here on the Watchtower under custody. No exceptions. We can't have any distractions while this situation is handled."
Zane raised an eyebrow, unfazed. "Got it. Prisoners of the Watchtower. Sounds cozy."
Batman's gaze hardened. "This is serious."
"Yeah, sure, Mr. Serious," Zane replied dryly. "I'll just hang out here and twiddle my thumbs."
Martian Manhunter stepped forward. "We will handle Klarion. You remain here."
Without another word, Batman and Martian Manhunter exited, their footsteps swallowed by the vast corridors.
The door hissed shut behind them, leaving the room dim and still except for the low hum of machines.
Zane glanced over at Artemis, who was completely absorbed in the data readouts, oblivious to his scheming grin.
With Martian Manhunter finally gone, Zane finally felt free.
He muttered under his breath, "Well, no blades, no poison, no fun gadgets... What's left? Old-school headbanging?"
He approached the nearest wall, eyeing it like it owed him money. "Maybe if I slam my skull into this steel enough times, I can knock myself out and wake up fresh... Or just end up with a headache and a concussion. Hmm."
He paced a little, rubbing his chin. "I am in space, if I could break out and just suffocate that would be good. But I doubt I could even break the glass without any sort of weapons.
If i could transform into my Echo Form I would be able to, but even then I almost gurentee that Superman would be by my side in a few seconds."
"Poison? Gone. Hanging? Not enough rope floating around the Watchtower."
He tapped his finger on his temple dramatically. "Brain explosion? Not unless I start thinking too hard."
Zane smirked, stepping back and crossing his arms.
"But hey, why rush? Might as well snoop around first. Maybe knowing the layout of this place will come in handy in the future."
He glanced at Artemis, motioning behind him,"Hey, you coming or what."
"Do you have a plan, Zane? The longer we wait here the more time we're wasting!" Artemis finally looked up from the destruction being shown on the screen to look at Zane, her face serious.
She was different from Zane after all, she actually really wanted to save people. Although Zane has grown a liking to it as well, he is not in a hurry since he has all the time in the world.
Zane gave her a lazy shrug. "Wasting time is kind of my thing. It's a skill, really. Should put it on my résumé."
"Zane, I'm serious," Artemis shot back, stepping away from the console. "Klarion's down there turning Hub City into a war zone. We can't just sit here while people are dying."
He tilted his head, pretending to think it over. "We could… or—and hear me out—we could enjoy our nice, safe, oxygen-filled box in space and let the flying gods handle it."
"That's not who I am." Her eyes narrowed, her voice sharp with frustration. "And it's not who I thought you were either."
Zane smirked, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "That's the thing about me, Arrowette—I'm full of surprises. Some good, some… well, let's just say Batman's ulcer probably has my name on it."
She crossed her arms. "You're impossible."
"Accurate," he said, strolling toward the door like he owned the place. "But just because I'm not sprinting into a magical blender doesn't mean I'm doing nothing."
Artemis followed, her tone skeptical. "So you do have a plan?"
"I have… ideas," Zane replied vaguely. "One of them involves finding a way out of here without causing too much trouble."
"You think they'll just let us wander around the Watchtower?" she asked, half incredulous, half amused.
Zane gestured to himself. "Do I look like the kind of guy who asks for permission?"
"More like the kind of guy who gets caught five minutes later."
He grinned. "See? That's why you're coming with me. I need someone to make fun of me when that happens."
Artemis hesitated for a second, torn between caution and the gnawing urge to do something. Finally, she let out a resigned sigh. "Fine. But if this gets us locked in a cell again, I'm blaming you."
Zane was already halfway down the corridor. "Perfect. I was planning to blame you anyway."
They slipped into the hallway, the distant hum of the Watchtower's engines vibrating under their feet. Somewhere far below them, Klarion's chaos raged on—but up here, it was just the two of them, a labyrinth of gleaming metal, and whatever trouble Zane was about to drag them into.
....
The Watchtower felt more like a bunker than a space station.
Every corridor was the same: polished metal, white strip lights overhead, and thick blast doors cutting off side passages. The emptiness was unsettling — just the hum of machinery and the faint, hollow ring of their footsteps.
The first door stopped them only minutes in. A heavy steel slab slid down from the ceiling with a deep thunk, locking into place. A red panel beside it glowed with two simple words:
[RESTRICTED ACCESS]
Zane eyed the door up and down. "Huh. Cozy."
Artemis moved on without slowing. "It's a security measure. Keeps civilians out of the dangerous stuff."
"Guess we're civilians now," Zane muttered, giving the wheel-lock an experimental tug. It didn't budge.
Artemis shot him a look over her shoulder. "Don't. We don't have time to waste."
But to Zane, time was all he had.
And this wasn't a waste — this was reconnaissance. Every door had potential:
Exterior Maintenance — step outside without a suit, problem solved.
Reactor Control — one wrong move, reset guaranteed.
Cryogenics — go to sleep here, wake up somewhere more useful.
The second time it happened, the blast door came down right in front of them. Zane had to stop short to avoid walking into it.
He slapped the cold metal with his palm. "These things are everywhere. Wonder what's behind them…"
"Not the hangar," Artemis said, starting back the way they'd come.
"You don't know that."
"I know it's a dead end for us," she countered, already taking the next corridor.
Zane followed, glancing back at the locked hatch. Manual wheel. Barred in place. Doable, if he found the right tool… or if he got creative.
The Watchtower might have been designed to keep intruders out, but he was starting to see all the ways it could keep him in. And that, ironically, made it perfect.
Artemis stopped at a junction and glanced both ways. "Alright — if we can get to the teleporter room, maybe we can beam down and try to find Desmond."
Zane just smiled faintly, eyes flicking to another door marked ATMOSPHERIC REGULATION.
He wasn't planning on beaming anywhere. He was a cheater and like doing things the easy way.
...
Author Thoughts.
I'll admit that the whole Watchtower thing I did is kinda lame. I had a whole thing planned where the MC would team up with Young Justice and hunt down Desmond.
But then I realized that it wouldn't really make any sense for him to do that if he already has a free Rewind Button.
Ended up abandoning the Idea and decided to smart thing for Zane to do would be to try and kill himself.
Writting is hard😢😢