The tattoo needle buzzed in the quiet of Wayne Tower's medical bay. Tony Stark sat with his sleeve rolled up, watching the ink sink into his forearm. Pepper was beside him, her own fresh tattoo wrapped in clear film, a glass of water untouched on the table.
"So let me summarize," Tony said. "Permanent anti-possession sigil tattooed somewhere on the body. Exorcism spell memorized. Bracelet for backup. Salt lines for doors. And angels exist."
"Yes."
"And this data you sent me. These files. Men of Letters archives. Latin incantations. Devil's traps. Demon blood lineages. It's all real."
"Yes."
Tony touched the fresh ink. It stung. "I've done research. Everything can be solved by science. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. Every phenomenon has an explanation. And now you're telling me the explanation for half the world's mysteries is... hell."
"Not half. But more than you'd think."
Pepper looked at her own arm. The sigil was precise. Ancient. It didn't belong on a woman who ran board meetings and quarterly projections.
"You're taking this better than I expected," Bruce said.
"I'm in shock," Pepper said. "Processing later. Functioning now."
The Mystic Eye's voice filled the room before Tony could respond. Calm. Precise. Urgent.
"Master Bruce. Vought International. First death captured on civilian footage."
Tony looked up sharply. "You have an AI."
Bruce didn't look back at him. "Why? Did you think you were the only genius?"
"That's not—who built it?"
"I did. Mystic, play the footage."
---
The screen lit up.
A city street. Busy. Normal. A young couple stood on the sidewalk, talking. The girl was smiling. Mid-sentence. Something about leaving town. Moving forward. The boy was listening, hands in his pockets.
Then the girl was gone.
Impact. Speed. A red and blue blur torn through the frame so fast the camera barely registered it. Blood sprayed across the concrete. The boy stood frozen. In his hands, two severed remains. Blood pooling at his feet. His mouth was open. No sound.
The speedster stopped twenty yards away. Turned. His face was visible. Young. Sweating. Panicked but not devastated. His lips moved. The audio caught fragments: "I can't stop."
Then he ran.
The boy still hadn't moved.
---
The screen kept playing. Vought representatives. Black suits. Clipped apologies. Papers slid across a table. An NDA. A man in a suit smiled and slid a check beside the papers. The boy's face was blank. The check sat untouched.
---
The footage stopped.
Tony's mouth was open. His knuckles white on the armrest.
"What the hell was that."
"A-Train," Bruce said. "Speedster. Member of the Seven. Vought International's premier superhero team. That's the third civilian fatality linked to him this year that we know of."
Pepper's voice was quiet. "The girl. She just—"
"Yes."
"Who was she?"
"Her name was Robin. The boy she was with is Hughie Campbell. He held her severed hands while a corporate legal team asked him to sign paperwork."
Tony stood up. Walked to the screen. Turned back to Bruce.
"This is happening right now? This company. These... heroes."
"Yes."
"And no one's stopping them."
"No one can. Vought controls the narrative. They own the news cycle. They own the politicians. Anyone who speaks out gets buried."
Tony was quiet for a long moment. Then he looked at Bruce.
"Welcome to the new world," Bruce said. "The one where death is sudden and the people who cause it sign autographs."
---
"Mystic," Bruce said. "Send this footage to the Justice League. Full briefing. Vought International. The Seven. Civilian casualties. Cover-ups. Everything we have."
"Message content, Master Bruce?"
"Tell them this: These heroes are not heroes. They are weapons marketed as saviors. If we don't stop them, they will destroy the fabric of society before any external enemy gets the chance. Kill them or contain them. But do not let them walk."
"Transmitting now. League acknowledgment expected within minutes."
Tony had been listening. His head tilted. His eyes narrowed.
"You're in contact with the Justice League."
"Yes."
"The Justice League. The ones who stopped the alien invasion. The saviors of humanity. They know you."
"I worked with them."
"And they take orders from you?"
"No. But they listen."
"Why?"
Bruce looked out the window. The sky was darkening. Gotham's towers gleamed red with sunset.
"I was the head of the Justice League. For a time. Not anymore. Now I'm just... outside."
"You led the Justice League."
"Yes."
"You."
"Yes."
Tony sat back down. Slowly. "I thought you were just some rich guy with spy tech and a demon problem."
"I'm a lot of things."
Pepper exhaled. "This is a lot to process."
"The world got bigger tonight," Bruce said. "It keeps getting bigger. That's why you're here."
---
Justice League Watchtower. Geosynchronous orbit. The Earth curved blue and silent below.
Diana stood at the central console. The message had arrived three minutes ago. Coded. Priority. Sender: Shadow.
She read it twice.
Oliver Queen leaned against the wall, bow disassembled for maintenance, eyes on the screen. " Code Shadow message. That's Bruce, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Read the attachment."
Barry Allen was already reading it. Speed-reading. His face shifted as the footage played. The girl. The blood. The speedster who didn't stop.
"I know him," Barry said quietly. "A-Train. I've seen his interviews. He's not... he's not one of us."
"He's a murderer," Clark said. He had been silent until now. Standing at the observation window, arms crossed. His voice was calm but there was iron underneath.
"He's a product," Diana corrected. "Vought created him. Vought controls him. And Vought is covering for him."
Martian Manhunter was at the secondary terminal, pulling data. "Vought International. Founded by Frederick Vought. Weapons manufacturer. Recently expanded into hero deployment. Public relations focus. Government contracts pending. They have at least seven powered individuals under management. Potentially more."
"Seven," Hal Jordan said. "That's a lot of unknown variables."
Clark turned from the window. "What does Bruce want us to do?"
Diana met his eyes. "He wants us to stop them. By any means necessary."
"That could mean killing."
"I know."
The room was quiet. Barry stopped the footage. The girl's face was frozen mid-laugh, seconds before impact.
"How many more?" Barry asked. "How many before we act?"
Clark looked at the image. His jaw tightened.
"We act now. Diana, call the League. Full briefing. Hal, I want satellite tracking on every known Vought asset. J'onn, dig deeper into their corporate structure. I want to know who's funding them and who's protecting them."
"And A-Train?" Oliver asked.
"We find him first. We make it clear that if he runs another civilian down, the League will respond with force."
"And if he doesn't stop?"
Clark's eyes were cold. "Then we stop him."
---
Gotham. Night had fallen. The tower lights glowed against the dark.
Tony leaned back in his chair. Rubbed his face.
"So demon-proof tattoos, interdimensional portals, and now a corporate superhero assassination squad. What's next week? Dragons?"
Bruce didn't answer.
"Wayne. That was a joke."
Tony looked at him for a long moment. Then shook his head. "You really believe all this. Every part of it."
" It's reality, my two cousins are legendary hunters that hunt real monster like vampire, shapeshifter, and even more bizzare spirit ghost! "
"Good enough." Tony stood. "Okay. I'm in. The dimensional project. The team. Whatever's coming. But I'm bringing my own coffee, and Pepper's not getting possessed, and you owe me a suit blueprint."
"I saved your life."
"And I'm grateful. I'm also petty."
Pepper picked up her tablet. "I'll draw up the NDAs."
Bruce almost smiled. "You'll find they're very thorough."
"I'd expect nothing less."
She walked to the elevator. Pepper lingered.
"You're not what I expected, Wayne."
" Bro, she is mine secretary, please don't steal her " Tony in funny tone said