The cave was quiet except for the sound of fists slamming into a training dummy. Damien's muscles burned with each strike, sweat dripping down his brow, but he didn't stop. His blades rested on the rack beside him, but tonight he wanted to rely on his body alone. No shortcuts. No excuses.
I won't let this Team break apart, he thought, slamming his palm into the dummy so hard that it rocked backward on its metal base. The memory of Artemis's face lingered—defenseless, judged, betrayed. He had stood by her, but it wasn't enough. The fractures within the Team were deepening. If he was going to hold them together, he needed to be stronger. Strong enough that no one could question his resolve.
Behind him, the sliding doors hissed open.
"You planning on breaking the dummy?" Robin's voice echoed lightly through the training hall. "Or just trying to scare it into submission?"
Damien exhaled through his nose and flexed his fingers, shaking the sting out. "You should know better than to sneak up on me."
Robin smirked, flipping his staff open. "Not sneaking. Observing. You've been in here for hours."
"Training," Damien said.
"You mean punishing yourself," Robin corrected. "Look, I get it. What happened with Artemis—it shook the Team. But you defending her… it mattered. More than you think."
Damien's eyes narrowed, though his fists slowly unclenched. "Not enough. If I'd been stronger, clearer, maybe we wouldn't be at each other's throats."
Robin tilted his head. "You really believe that? That it all comes down to strength?"
Before Damien could answer, the cave's alarm blared. Red lights pulsed overhead. The Team's voices echoed faintly from the mission room.
"Guess that's our cue," Robin muttered.
The BriefingBatman's voice was grim as he outlined the mission. "Intelligence suggests the Shadows have been supplying advanced weapon caches across the globe. One such cache has been discovered near Santa Prisca."
The screen flickered, showing satellite images of a sprawling jungle fortress, half-hidden in the dense canopy.
"Santa Prisca?" Wally groaned. "You're kidding. Home turf of steroid-man himself?"
"Bane," Batman confirmed. "He's guarding the cache personally. Expect heavy resistance."
Damien's hands flexed at the name. He'd heard whispers of Bane's strength—strength born of Venom, strength that rivaled even Superboy's raw power.
"Your mission is simple," Batman continued. "Destroy the weapons. Don't let them leave the island."
The screen went black. Batman's gaze lingered on the Team, unreadable. "Stay sharp. Don't underestimate Bane." Then he turned and vanished into the shadows.
Arrival on Santa PriscaThe bioship descended low, cloaked, through humid jungle mist. The smell of saltwater and wet earth filled the cabin. Damien sat near the rear, his hood drawn over his head, blades strapped to his back. He was silent, coiled like a spring.
Artemis glanced sideways at him. She hadn't forgotten the way he stood for her. Neither had she forgotten the storm in his eyes.
"You look ready to explode," she whispered.
"I'm ready to end this," Damien said simply.
The ship landed in the shadows of towering palms. The Team disembarked, spreading out, eyes sharp. Robin took point, scanning the fortress perimeter through his lenses.
"Motion sensors, guard patrols, and about a dozen cameras," he said. "Classic overkill."
"Let me at it," Wally grinned, already vibrating with impatience.
"No," Robin snapped. "We're going quiet. In and out before they know we're here."
But Damien's gaze wasn't on the fortress—it was on the clearing near the gates, where a massive figure loomed.
Bane.
He stood with his arms folded, muscles bulging beneath the straps of his Venom rig, mask gleaming under moonlight. He wasn't just guarding the gate—he was waiting.
The Clash BeginsThe first alarms blared the second Wally tripped a motion sensor darting ahead. Gunfire erupted from the walls as mercenaries poured out. The Team scattered, leaping into action.
Superboy ripped open the gate, charging through with raw force. Miss Martian hovered above, projecting psychic blasts. Artemis and Robin moved like shadows, arrows and gadgets disabling turrets in a blur.
And Damien—Damien's eyes locked on Bane.
The mercenaries fell away from his focus. Only the mountain of muscle in the center mattered.
Bane sneered, voice muffled through his mask. "Another child playing hero?"
"Try me," Damien growled.
They collided.
Bane swung first, a devastating hook that would have broken stone. Damien ducked, spinning under it, his fist striking Bane's ribs with enough force to echo like a drum. The man barely flinched.
"You're strong," Bane admitted, almost amused. Then he pressed a switch on his wrist. Tubes hissed, Venom surging into his veins. His body swelled, muscles bulging grotesquely. "But not strong enough."
The next punch sent Damien flying back into a concrete wall. The stone cracked. Dust rained down.
"Damien!" Artemis shouted, loosing an arrow to cover him.
But Damien pushed himself to his feet, blood on his lip, fire in his eyes. "Finally," he muttered, wiping it away. "A real fight."
Power UnleashedDamien charged, blades flashing into his hands. He ducked under Bane's haymaker, spun, and slashed across the Venom tubes. Sparks flew, fluid spraying—but Bane twisted, wrenching Damien's arm back and hurling him like a ragdoll.
He landed in a crouch, chest heaving. He'd been holding back for too long. If he wanted to end this, he had to let go.
Damien closed his eyes, centering himself. The energy inside him surged, begging for release. He let it flow.
A shockwave burst outward as his aura ignited—crimson light crackling along his arms. The ground cracked beneath his feet.
The Team froze mid-battle, staring.
"Uh… did he just power up DBZ-style?" Wally muttered.
Bane lunged. Damien met him head-on. Their fists collided—and the shockwave blew mercenaries off their feet, ripped trees from the ground, shattered stone walls.
Bane staggered back, eyes wide. Damien didn't stop. He unleashed a barrage—kicks, flips, blade slashes, each strike punctuated by bursts of raw energy. He moved like a storm, faster and heavier than before.
Bane tried to counter, his massive arms swinging like wrecking balls, but Damien slid through, cutting Venom tubes one after another. Sparks rained, green fluid spraying.
"You think brute force makes you strong?" Damien snarled between blows. His fist slammed into Bane's jaw, sending him sprawling. "Strength without control is nothing!"
Bane roared, surging back up, but Damien was already airborne, twisting into a spinning kick that connected square with his chest. The shockwave blasted Bane through a reinforced wall, leaving him unconscious in a crater of rubble.
Silence.
AftermathThe battlefield was wrecked. Smoke curled from broken walls. Mercenaries lay scattered, groaning. And in the center, Damien stood with his blades lowered, chest heaving, aura fading into the night.
The Team stared.
Superboy's fists clenched, jaw tight. He looked at Damien not with anger, but something closer to… unease.
Robin finally broke the silence. "…Remind me never to get on your bad side."
Damien turned, meeting their gazes. "We still have a mission."
Artemis smirked faintly, shouldering her bow. "Show-off." But her tone wasn't mocking—it was proud.
The Team regrouped, planting charges in the weapon cache. Minutes later, the fortress erupted in flames behind them as the bioship carried them away.
Inside the cabin, the silence was heavy, broken only by the hum of the engines. Finally, Wally spoke.
"Okay. So… we officially need you."
Damien didn't reply. He didn't need to. The look in their eyes told him everything. Respect. Fear. Trust. A mix of all three.
For the first time since joining the Team, Damien realized he wasn't just fighting alongside them. He was becoming part of them.