The Cave was restless that night.
It wasn't because of a mission, or Batman's looming presence, or even Black Canary's latest punishing drills. No—tonight, it was something simpler. Messier.
Romance.
Damien sat at the far end of the common room, sharpening the edge of one of his vibro-gauntlets. The rhythmic scrape of metal on whetstone filled the air, but even that steady sound couldn't drown out the voices on the other side of the room.
Miss Martian and Superboy sat too close together on the couch, whispering. Every now and then, Megan's laugh bubbled up like music, and Superboy—stoic, stone-faced Superboy—softened into something almost boyish when he looked at her.
Robin leaned against the wall, smirking knowingly. Artemis sat cross-legged on the floor, fiddling with her bowstring. Wally paced in circles like a caged animal, throwing glances at the pair on the couch every five seconds.
"Unbelievable," Wally muttered. "We're supposed to be a team, not some—some CW soap opera."
Artemis didn't look up. "Jealous much?"
"Jealous? Me?" Wally scoffed, pointing at himself. "Please. I'm just saying, all this—" he waved at the couch "—is gonna get us killed one day. Distractions. Emotions. Bad mix."
Damien finally looked up from his gauntlet. His tone was calm, but his words cut sharper than any blade. "You're pacing a hole in the floor over their relationship. That seems more distracting than them sitting quietly."
Wally spun, glaring. "Oh, right, because Mr. Perfect knows everything. Maybe you've noticed, new guy, but we've been a team longer than you. We know how this works."
Damien slid the gauntlet back onto his wrist, tightening the strap with slow precision. His dark eyes flicked up, unbothered. "If you knew how it works, you wouldn't still be arguing about it."
Robin stifled a laugh with a cough. Artemis smirked. Wally turned red.
Before the tension could spark into another shouting match, the zeta-tube flared to life.
"Recognized. Batman. 02."
The Dark Knight stepped into the Cave, cloak sweeping behind him. Instantly, the room fell silent. Even Wally stopped fuming.
"Cadmus," Batman said without preamble. "A spin-off facility has surfaced in Blüdhaven. Intelligence suggests they're experimenting with alien technology recovered from multiple battle sites. You are to investigate, confirm, and shut it down."
The Team shifted, murmurs of unease rippling. Cadmus was a name none of them had forgotten.
"Alien tech?" Robin asked.
Batman's jaw tightened. "Kryptonian. Thanagarian. Possibly Apokoliptian. All highly unstable in human hands." His eyes swept the room and lingered for half a second on Damien. "This is not a simple raid. Expect heavy resistance."
"Cool," Wally muttered, cracking his knuckles. "Another suicide run."
Batman ignored him. "Aqualad has operational command. Robin, you handle technical infiltration. The rest of you—support. Dismissed."
And with that, he was gone, leaving silence in his wake.
Damien stood, fastening his jacket. His expression was unreadable, but inside, something sharpened. Cadmus. He had history there—even if no one else knew it. Tonight, he'd prove something.
The Bioship skimmed low over Blüdhaven's skyline, cloaked against radar. The city's lights glittered below, but the industrial district they approached was dark, abandoned, save for one cluster of warehouses lit up like a fortress.
"That's the place," Robin whispered, his holo-map glowing faintly in the dark. "Heat signatures off the charts."
Megan's voice brushed their minds through the psychic link. Guards patrolling in squads of three. Advanced weaponry.
Aqualad's tone was steady, calm. "We move quietly. No alarms. Take down guards, then breach."
The Team nodded. They fanned out through the shadows, moving like wraiths.
Artemis notched a trick arrow and silently dropped one guard. Robin used bolas to bind another. Superboy moved like a predator, silencing his targets with brutal efficiency.
Damien was a whisper in the night. He slipped behind a soldier, struck the pressure point at the base of his neck, and lowered him to the ground without a sound.
"Clear," he murmured.
Within minutes, the perimeter was theirs.
Inside, the warehouse hummed with machinery. Crates of alien tech lined the walls—metallic pods, glowing cores, half-disassembled weapons pulsing with energy.
Robin's eyes widened as he scanned a console. "Yeah, this is bad. They're trying to merge alien circuitry with human bio-tech. This is like… Cadmus 2.0."
"Then we shut it down," Aqualad said.
But before they could move, alarms shrieked.
"Great," Wally groaned. "So much for quiet."
Floodlights snapped on. From the shadows, mercenaries poured in—armed to the teeth. But worse were the creatures that followed.
Tall, lanky things with glowing blue veins and elongated limbs. Their skin shimmered with patches of alien plating, grafted crudely onto human frames. Their eyes glowed, unnatural.
"They're—people," Megan gasped, horrified. "Modified."
The creatures shrieked and lunged.
The battle erupted.
Superboy slammed into the first creature, only to be thrown back by a burst of alien energy. Wally blurred through the crowd, knocking mercenaries off balance, but one creature caught him mid-stride, hurling him into a wall.
Robin's gadgets sparked uselessly against alien armor. Artemis fired explosive arrows, but the creatures adapted, shrugging off the blasts.
Damien moved like lightning, vibro-gauntlets humming as he carved through enemy lines. He ducked under a creature's swipe, drove his blade into its arm, and severed the alien plating. The creature howled, collapsing.
But more kept coming.
"Fall back!" Aqualad shouted, raising water-construct shields to block incoming fire.
"No," Damien snapped, eyes flashing. He saw it—the pattern, the flaw. "They're unstable. The alien grafts are connected to central cores—glowing nodes, chest and spine. Hit those, they collapse."
Robin blinked, then grinned. "He's right!"
"Team—target the cores!"
The fight shifted. Artemis aimed true, her arrow piercing a core and dropping a creature instantly. Robin hurled explosive discs, shattering nodes. Superboy ripped one out with his bare hands, tossing the husk aside.
Damien led the charge, weaving between enemies, precise, efficient. He barked orders without hesitation.
"Kid Flash—herd them into a line!"
"What am I, cattle dog?!" Wally yelled, but he obeyed, zipping circles until three creatures stumbled together.
"Now, Artemis!"
Her arrow detonated, taking all three down.
"Superboy—high left! Take out the support beam!"
Superboy obeyed, smashing the structure. Rubble crushed a cluster of mercenaries.
Piece by piece, the chaos turned into order. The Team moved not as individuals, but as one. And at the center of it all was Damien—calculating, decisive, relentless.
Finally, the last creature fell, its core shattered. The warehouse went still, save for the crackle of sparking tech.
The Team stood panting, bruised, but alive.
Aqualad lowered his weapons, studying Damien with quiet astonishment. "You… directed us."
Robin's grin was wide. "And flawlessly. Seriously, you saw that, right? He was calling shots like Batman out there."
Artemis pushed hair from her face, eyes lingering on Damien. "Not just calling shots. Saving lives."
Wally groaned, leaning against a wall. "Ugh. Fine. I'll say it. He's not terrible."
Robin laughed. "High praise."
Damien exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow. His gaze swept the wreckage—alien tech destroyed, enemies neutralized. For once, there was no doubt in the air. No suspicion.
Only respect.
Back at the Cave, Black Canary awaited them. She listened to their report, eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at Damien.
"You coordinated the fight?"
Damien's answer was steady. "Yes. The team needed direction. I gave it."
A pause. Then, Canary's lips curved—just barely. "Good."
When she walked off, Robin elbowed him. "Dude. That's as close to a gold star as you're ever getting from her."
Artemis crossed her arms, smirking. "Guess you're more than just Mr. Perfect after all."
Even Wally, grumbling under his breath, offered a muttered, "Not bad."
Superboy gave a short, firm nod.
For the first time since he joined, Damien felt it—the shift. No longer an outsider. No longer just the new recruit under scrutiny.
He was part of them.
The heart of the team.