Mount Justice was quiet. Too quiet.
The training room felt colder than it ever had before. The hum of machinery echoed in the silence as the Team sat scattered, slumped on benches or leaning against walls. They had awoken alive, unscathed, their bodies whole. But their hearts… their hearts still carried the scars.
Miss Martian clutched herself, rocking slightly, her eyes red and swollen from crying. Robin sat stiff, staring at his gloves as if blood still clung to them. Wally tried forcing a joke but the words never came, his mouth twitching without sound. Artemis pressed her fists into her knees so hard her knuckles whitened, jaw clenched like stone. Zatanna is with her father now. She is also going through something and her father is taking care of her.
Ryotaro is sitting in his chair and watching his teammates with concern expression.He didn't speak. He didn't move.
The doors slid open. Black Canary stepped inside. Her expression was calm, controlled, but her eyes betrayed sympathy. She looked at them not as soldiers, not as students—but as children carrying burdens far beyond their years.
"You all went through something no one should ever experience," she began softly. "But you did. And now, we need to talk about it."
They gathered reluctantly, forming a circle. No one spoke at first. The silence stretched until Canary broke it.
"Wally," she said gently, "do you want to start?"
Kid Flash shifted uncomfortably. His foot tapped fast against the floor. "What's there to say? We got beat up in some virtual reality. That's it."
Artemis shot him a glare. "Don't downplay it. I watched you die, Wally. I watched you burn." Her voice cracked on the last word.
His smile faltered. "Yeah, well, you weren't exactly—" He stopped himself, biting back the words. He buried his face in his hands. "It wasn't supposed to be real. But it felt real. Too real."
M'gann's voice was barely a whisper. "It was my fault. Because of my strong psychic power. You guys get hurt."
"You can't blame yourself," Canary said.
"But I do," M'gann sobbed. "Every time one of you… disappeared… I felt it. Like it was my fault I couldn't stop it."
Robin's fists tightened. His laugh came out hollow. "We were never going to win. No matter what I planned, no matter how many moves ahead I thought—I couldn't save anyone. I couldn't even save myself."
"Robin—" Canary started.
"No!" He slammed his fist against the floor. "Batman would've found a way. But me? I just watched my team die, one by one."
The circle fell silent again, each of them sinking deeper into their own pain.
Except Ryotaro. Canary turned to him gently. "Ryotaro… you've been quiet. Do you want to share what you felt?"
He whispered, barely audible. "I… lost control."
But before Canary could ask more, Wally jumped in, blurting, "Yeah, we all did. No shame in that."
Canary's eyes softened. "Superboy. Do you want to share?"
His jaw tightened. "No. Talking doesn't change anything." He stood abruptly, chair scraping across the floor.
"Superboy—"
"I said no." His voice was harsh, but the tremor in it betrayed something deeper. Without another word, he stormed out of the room.
The team stared after him, the circle broken. With that they all sitting there without saying anything.
The next day, the team gathered again in the training room. The air was still heavy, but there was a different current beneath it—like the first cracks of light after a storm.
Black Canary looked around at them. "Yesterday was rough. But healing doesn't happen in a day. It takes honesty. It takes facing the truth." Her eyes swept over each of them. "Who's ready to try again?"
For a long moment, no one spoke. Then Robin cleared his throat.
"I kept thinking I had to be Batman. That if I wasn't perfect, people would die. But maybe…" His voice wavered. "Maybe it's okay that I'm not him. Maybe I don't have to be."
Wally gave a shaky laugh. "I can't stop replaying it. Dying. It's like my brain's stuck on loop. But… saying it out loud, it feels lighter. Like maybe it won't crush me if I don't keep it bottled up."
Artemis looked away, her voice quiet. "I act tough because I don't want to admit how much I need you all. But I do. If I lost this team… I don't know who I'd be."
M'gann sniffled, tears brimming. "I thought caring made me weak. But it's what makes me… me. And I don't want to stop, no matter how much it hurts."
Each voice loosened the tension in the room, like knots slowly untangling. Then all eyes turned to Ryotaro.
"I was scared," he admitted, voice low but steady. "Not just of losing you. But of myself. I saw what I could become if I gave in to that fear. And it… it shook me. But I don't want to run from it anymore. I want to stand with you. Even if I'm afraid."
The silence that followed wasn't heavy this time. It was warm. Accepting.
Robin gave him a small, genuine smile. "Welcome back."
Artemis smirked faintly. "About time."
Wally grinned, elbowing him. "See? We're all messed up. You fit right in."
M'gann's gentle hand brushed his, her eyes full of quiet understanding.
~~~ A week later, National City ~~~
The school hallway was packed. Students crowded around the bulletin board where the exam results had just been posted. The air was filled with cheers, complaints, and groans—typical of exam day.
Ryotaro stood at the back, his bag hanging loosely off his shoulder. He wasn't nervous about missions or villains today. Just a sheet of paper. Somehow, that made his chest feel tighter than any battlefield.
"Go on, Ryotaro," Kara Danvers urged, her voice light and teasing.
He turned to glance at her. Kara leaned against the lockers with an encouraging grin. Beside her, Alex stood more composed, though there was a soft smile on her lips.
"You're both enjoying this way too much," Ryotaro muttered.
Finally, he stepped forward. The other students made space, some whispering as they recognized him. Ryotaro scanned the list quickly, bracing for disappointment.
And then he saw it.
Narumi Ryotaro – 1st place.
For a moment, he just stared. He'd done it.
*********
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