The air was charged with energy. Every blast from Doctor Light made the lampposts tremble, bulbs explode, and Raven's shields shatter into mystical fragments.
She was already struggling to breathe, her shoulder marked by searing burns, each defense draining a fraction of her strength.
The villain advanced, grinning, his eyes blazing like furious suns.
— It's over, little girl… in the end, light always wins.
But before he could say another word, a shadow struck like lightning.
Ethan.
He crashed into the villain with a brutal flying kick to the chest, the impact echoing like thunder. Doctor Light's body was hurled backward, smashing through one of the park's structures and colliding violently with a jagged spire of concrete and steel, pinned there with a metallic crash.
Raven's eyes widened. Ethan stood before her, chest heaving, eyes wild—almost feral—locked on the spot where Doctor Light had landed.
" You…" — she murmured, stunned.
He turned his gaze to her, his voice steady, though she could feel it was laced with concern:
"Are you okay?"
Raven, breathless, clutched her burned shoulder. The skin still smoldered with the scent of scorched flesh.
"Nothing that'll take me down… "— she muttered, trying to mask the pain.
Ethan clenched his fists.
" Let's make a trade." — A half-smile tugged at his lips, almost mocking. — Leave this bastard to me.
On the other side, Doctor Light was still trying to recover, energy crackling around his body. But before he could throw another taunt, Ethan had already charged at him, drawing his shadow-forged pistols.
The sharp sound of gunfire tore through the air.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The shots weren't fatal, but precise: shoulder, leg, thigh. Each bullet pinned him deeper against the steel wall, immobilizing him with surgical accuracy.
"Arghhh!" — Doctor Light howled, thrashing, but with every movement another shot found its mark.
Ethan walked toward him, slow, the long coat billowing behind him. He said nothing. Just holstered his guns and closed his fist.
The villain, trembling, managed to croak:
" Who… who the hell are you?"
Ethan stopped in front of him, his eyes sparking with fury. A faint blue glow shimmered deep in his iris. Without answering, he drove a punch straight into the man's abdomen.
The impact reverberated, burying Doctor Light's body even deeper into the crater. Air burst from his lungs in a violent spray of spit. A moment later, the villain went limp, unconscious.
Across the park, the battle still roared like thunder.
Starfire, fists wrapped in emerald flames, ripped through the sky at blazing speed. With every strike, a streak of light set the night ablaze.
"You're no match for me, alien princess!" — Jinx screeched, unleashing twisted spells in bursts of pink energy that warped the ground like molten glass.
But Starfire didn't back down.
She weaved through the attacks in acrobatic arcs, closing in closer with each move. Then, in a sudden dive, she bridged the distance.
Her right fist burned with cosmic fire.
BAM!
The punch slammed into Jinx's face.
Before the villainess could recover, came the second.
BAM! BAM!
A devastating flurry hammered into her abdomen and chest, each blow lighting up the darkness with green firebursts.
Jinx staggered, her body buckling from the pain, but Starfire showed no mercy.
With a battle cry, she clasped her hands together, channeling her energy. A blazing sphere of stellar fire formed, pulsing like a miniature sun.
The blast tore through the air in a straight line, striking Jinx head-on. The impact hurled her like a rag doll, through debris, until she crashed to the ground with a deafening thud.
She lay motionless, eyes shut, body limp amid smoke and rubble.
Unconscious.
Starfire landed gracefully, her hair flickering with flames around her face. Her eyes gleamed with certainty: Jinx was out of the fight.
The silence after the battle was heavy, broken only by the distant wail of sirens and the crackle of fading electricity from the destroyed posts.
Ethan walked with steady steps, carrying Raven in his arms. His black coat swayed in the night wind, partly wrapping the fragile body of the young sorceress.
Her shoulder was burned, her left thigh throbbing with pain, leaving her unable to move. Her usually composed face was flushed, not just from the pain but from the embarrassment of being held by him. Her violet eyes averted, avoiding the closeness.
A green streak cut through the sky. Starfire descended, her expression filled with concern.
" Raven!" — she cried, rushing to her friend. — " You're hurt? "
Ethan adjusted his stance and replied calmly:
"She's been burned. Shoulder and thigh. You should take a look."
Carefully, he handed Raven over, passing her into Starfire's arms. The Tamaranean princess held her gently, as if she were glass.
Ethan then added, voice grave:
"Mammoth and Doctor Light are unconscious as well. I'll leave them to you… and the authorities."
Starfire looked up at him, surprised.
"You were incredible… but who are you?"
He stayed silent for a few seconds, watching them both. Then he said, firmly but without raising his voice:
" Ethan. "
Raven, still supported by Starfire, murmured softly, blushing:
"Thank you… "
He smiled faintly.
"It was nothing"
For a moment, Ethan noticed her eyes on him again. Curious. Almost analytical, as if trying to decipher something hidden about him.
Starfire, with her natural brightness, smiled and said:
"The others are on their way! Why don't you stay with us?"
Ethan shook his head, exhaling softly.
" I'd like to… but I need to take my sister home. She's probably worried. Maybe we'll run into each other again sometime."
He stepped back, turning away. With one last nod, he said:
" Raven. Starfire. It was a pleasure."
His coat fluttered in the night wind until his silhouette vanished into the shadows.
Starfire watched, thoughtful, before smiling slightly:
"What an interesting young man, isn't he?"
Raven kept her gaze distant, her thoughts far away.
"Yeah… interesting… — she whispered, more to herself than to her friend."
thirty minutes later
The city lights rippled on the dark waters of the docks. The smell of salt mixed with rust, and the waves lapped lazily against wooden pillars. Ethan sat on a worn bench, his coat crumpled, his forehead still marked with dried blood that refused to fade. Beside him, Sofia licked absentmindedly at her ice cream, her eyes full of questions she couldn't quite form.
Abel waited a few meters away, inside the car, his stern face turned toward the siblings, watching like a silent guardian.
" So…"— Sofia broke the silence, stirring her spoon in the cup — "are you gonna tell me what that was, or are we just gonna pretend nothing happened? "
Ethan sighed, resting his elbows on his knees. His breath was slow, as if the weight of battle still lingered on him.
" I have powers now, Sofi." — His voice was low, firm. — "But no one can know. Not friends, not neighbors, no one. If they find out… they won't just come after me. They'll come after you too."
She stared at him intently, a mix of fascination and hurt.
" Since when? You hid this from me all this time?"
He hesitated. Then pulled out his phone, slid the screen, and opened a headline from weeks earlier:
Mysterious vigilante strikes from Gotham's shadows. New ally… or new threat?
Sofia leaned closer, reading in silence. The glow of the screen lit her face until realization struck.
"That was you!" — her voice came out louder than she intended. — "Wait… does that mean… you know Batman?!"
Ethan couldn't help but let out a tired but genuine smirk.
"Not exactly."
Sofia bit her lip, trying to stay serious, though her adolescence betrayed her in every gesture. Her eyes gleamed with a mix of curiosity and pride.
"My brother… a hero." — she whispered, almost to herself.
Ethan leaned back on the bench, eyes on the dark waves. He didn't answer, letting her take it in.
But soon her expression turned serious. Her eyes locked on him.
"Ethan… when you were fighting that monster… Mammoth… I saw your eyes. I've never seen you like that before. It looked like… you were going to kill him. " — Her voice shook. "Are you… are you going to.. kill people?" — her voice was low, trembling.
He drew a deep breath, running his hand through his messy hair before answering.
"It's not what I want. I want to be a hero, Sofi. To protect people. But… if one day it's the only way to save you, our family, or innocent lives… I'd do whatever it takes."
Her eyes welled with tears. For a moment, she stayed quiet, then pushed back, voice fragile, like a child clinging to certainty:
" But… but Batman doesn't kill anyone. Heroes don't kill, Ethan… right?"
He stayed silent for a few moments, staring at the reflection in the dark water, as if searching for the answer there. Then he spoke, calm but firm:
" Batman is an incredible hero. Maybe the greatest of them all.. i admire him, truly. But I also think he made some mistakes. He left some of his worst monsters alive… like the Joker, for exemple.
Sofia shuddered at the name. The memory of that laugh broadcast on TV crept back into her mind—a laugh that seemed to gnaw at the sanity of anyone who heard it.
Ethan continued:
"How many families did he destroy? How many people lost everything because of him?" — Ethan's voice came steady, resolute. — "If Batman had ended it from the start, countless lives would've been spared. Maybe thousands."
He turned, meeting his sister's eyes with intensity.
"And I wonder, Sofi… if the right thing wouldn't have been to kill him long ago."
She stayed quiet, swallowing hard. The air felt heavier, as if even the sea had stopped to listen.
Then Ethan drew a breath and managed a tired but genuine smile:
"But… that's not my decision. Not yet. I just hope I won't have to choose anytime soon."
Sofia watched him in silence as he stared out at the black waves. Her heart was split between fear and pride.
And in that moment, she realized her brother was no longer the same boy he once was…
but at the same time, she knew that no matter what came next, he would protect her and their family.
And that certainty brought her peace.
(Continue...)
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