20 advance chapters on [email protected]/Saintbarbido.
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Luthor's gaze was cold enough to freeze blood. His eyes swept over Dr. Flinch with something worse than hate — utter disdain.
"Step aside, Doctor," he said, voice low but coiled with venom, "or you will regret it."
The warning came like a blade pressed to the throat, but Dr. Flinch stood firm. His refusal was silent yet absolute. Luthor's patience cracked.
"You dare oppose me?"
Before the doctor could move, Luthor's hand lashed out, striking him sharply across the face. Flinch stumbled, a crimson line forming at the corner of his lip.
"Mercy," Luthor called without turning. His assistant was already moving, heels clicking like a countdown. From beneath her coat, she produced a sleek, black handgun and placed it into Luthor's palm with reverence.
He leveled the weapon directly at Dr. Flinch's head. The barrel was so close, Flinch could smell the faint tang of gun oil.
Seconds stretched into eternity. The doctor's breath slowed, not in calm but in acceptance. His eyes locked on the dark hole at the end of the barrel, watching death gather there—
And then the world shook.
A deep tremor rippled through the floor, rattling the glass walls. Dust drifted from the ceiling as the vibrations intensified, growing into a full, teeth-rattling quake.
Luthor's aim wavered. "What now?" he muttered, stalking toward the wall of monitors.
The screens showed chaos in the upper levels — guards being hurled aside like rag dolls, weapons clattering uselessly against the floor. Five figures moved like a storm through the security forces.
One hurled a boomerang shaped like a bird's wings, smashing the nearest camera feed into darkness.
"The Titans," Luthor growled, recognition curdling into rage.
He turned back to Dr. Flinch, grabbing the man by his tie and pulling him close enough to feel his breath. "This is your fault," Luthor hissed, before slamming the doctor's head into the table. Flinch collapsed in a heap, unconscious.
Far below, Mark leaned heavily against a wall, chest heaving. The muffled sounds of combat above rattled through the structure, but one presence cut through the chaos like a beacon — familiar, steady, dark.
Raven.
Before leaving his house, Mark had messaged her, a desperate call for help. His instincts had been right; this night had spiraled exactly as he feared. His mana reserves were dangerously low, his magical circuits hot and raw from overuse. He needed a moment to breathe — but moments were luxuries he didn't have.
A pulse of shadow split the air beside him. Raven stepped through a swirling portal of dark energy, her eyes scanning him.
Without a word, she swept her cloak aside and gestured. The darkness warped, forming another portal behind her.
Through it stepped Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. Robin's eyes locked on Mark instantly.
"So this is the special boy?" Robin said, voice edged with disappointment.
"Well," Beast Boy grinned, "he does look cooler and stoic than you."
Robin's glare was sharp enough to silence him.
Above, Luthor was already moving his pieces. He wouldn't let the League confiscate his work. Mercy hoisted the limp Dr. Flinch over her shoulder, and at his signal, he pressed a recessed red button on his console. A mechanical voice began counting down — the building was now a ticking bomb.
The Titans barely had time to react before the next chamber opened, revealing a vast room filled wall-to-wall with children — dozens, maybe hundreds — and mechanical cyborg shells in various stages of assembly. Cyborg was the most astonished among the group, his counterpart extended in en masse.
Four minutes. That was all.
Starfire's voice rose above the hum of machinery. "We must save them!"
Beast Boy's expression twisted with guilt, but his voice was firm. "There's no way. We can't get everyone out in time."
The countdown ticked on. Three minutes.
"No," Robin snapped. "We save as many as we can."
The team exploded into motion.
Starfire blasted apart the nearest restraint pods, freeing terrified children. Cyborg scooped up two at a time, sprinting toward the exit.
Beast Boy morphed into a massive falcon, lifting groups in his talons.
Mark tore open containment cells with raw magical force, each release draining him further. Children stumbled free, eyes wide and frightened, clinging to the Titans as if they were the only solid things in a collapsing world.
Two minutes.
Sweat stung Mark's eyes. The air grew hotter, a faint metallic tang creeping in as the explosion's precursor systems activated.
"Go!" Robin shouted. "Everyone out!"
Mark scooped up two children, running beside Beast Boy. Raven's portals yawned open at the far end, spitting out survivors into the night air.
One minute.
There were still dozens left.
Starfire's blasts grew frantic. Cyborg's systems overheated. Mark's circuits screamed in protest.
Thirty seconds.
The room was a frenzy of movement, fear, and fire. Mark grabbed one last child and sprinted for the portal. Behind him, Starfire hurled the final survivor through.
Then — the blast.
The explosion roared like a beast, ripping through steel and concrete, devouring the room they had just left. The shockwave chased them through the portal, the heat licking at their backs.
They stumbled out into the cold night, coughing, holding the children they had managed to save.
Mark counted. Too few. Far too few. The rest were gone, swallowed by fire and rubble.
Robin's fists clenched. "Who is responsible for this?"
"Luthor," Mark said without hesitation.
The name burned in the air. The Titans exchanged dark looks — but there was no proof, only ash.
Tonight, they had learned a truth that cut deeper than any blade: being a hero didn't mean saving everyone. Sometimes, it only meant saving someone.
Mark's mind wasn't on philosophy. His father was gone. Luthor had taken him — he was certain of it — to continue whatever horrors this place had been building toward.
He would not let it happen again.
The night wind carried the smell of smoke as Raven opened a portal to Mark's room.
"You alright?" she asked quietly.
Mark's gaze fell to the floor.
"...I'm gonna be alright."
"And you?" he asked, searching her eyes.
Raven didn't answer. She didn't have to. The shadow in her gaze told him everything.
The portal closed, and the night swallowed the ruins.