Caius stood motionless in the abandoned room near Gotham Pier, his amber eyes reflecting rows of glowing data projected across the wall in front of him. The room still dim except for portable work lights clipped to exposed pipes, the glow of his laptop, and two extra monitors running side by side on a scarred folding table.
The floor was littered with old tools, stacked crates, and a few tarps he had pushed into the corners to make room. Outside, the wind off Gotham Bay rattled loose metal somewhere along the roof, making the whole place groan now and then like it was still trying to remember what it used to be.
But the far wall was where all of his attention stayed. A giant Map of Gotham was on display. From the Iceberg Lounge. Gotham Academy and other significant places. The Belfry and The Wayne estate was mainly circled.
Followed by a picture of the rebuilt Titans Tower. Then new Justice League satellite. Besides each picture was a large list of information.
Zeta-Tube signatures. Patrol routes. The known security systems and possible emergency exits. Schedules were cross-referenced with known mission windows and public appearances. Anything Caius could dig up or get his hands on.
Most people looking at this wall would have thought it belonged to a paranoid conspiracy theorist or a criminal mastermind on the verge of doing something stupid. But for Caius it was information on his enemies.
He then stared at the dual screens and the corrected board of information while thoughts moved quickly through his head.
This is almost two decades worth of knowledge.
Not just from living in this world, but from the comic books, animated shows, films, of my past life. Now that old knowledge sat inside his head beside ten real years of experience in this world, and putting the two together had become the only reason he was still ahead of everyone watching him.
After I was transmigrated into this world, it was hard to navigate its course of this world story. Between which era of DC this was and where the invincible universe fit in. Nothing made much sense.
But then I had realized something early. This world wasn't one clean timeline, it was more like a stitched or a amalgamation of the best part of DC.
Some things happened like the comics and the cartoons. Certain story events but nothing as black and white as the original source material. Some followed the broad shape of stories while certain things changed like who was involved and outcomes.
But I couldn't tell by how much with the Viltrumites being part of this reality. Besides the hybrids being different I don't how more their influence and reach is. I'm still curious to why no one has been here in the past five years two see why my dad or Nolan, haven't reported back.
Still, enough had stayed the same with the DC stories. So I could predict certain patterns. The Death of Superman had happened in its own way. Not exactly the way I remembered, but enough that the echoes remained in everyone who had lived through it.
Death in the Family had happened too. Jason death affected the whole bat family. The events of Hush happen. So far I haven't heard or seen anything about the Killing Joke, since Barbra can still walk.
I theorized the Titans went through Graduation Day, based on how so many people died. Titans Tower had been rebuilt better than ever after the attack years ago. Dick still invites me over from time to time, he's still trying in his own way, but I always refused. The wound there had never healed and part of me is to ashamed.
After the events at the Tower, Starfire and Raven had quit the team and had gone missing. Officially "inactive." Unofficially, gone. Superboy works with the League every now and again, though in this world he wasn't a Cadmus clone. He was more like his comic book self. He still lives at the Tower and helps mentor the younger powered teens and new recruits.
Bumblebee (Karen Beecher-Duncan) has become vice leader under Nightwing. Cyborg and Static (Virgil Hawkins), handled most of the Tower's defense infrastructure and equipment when they weren't on missions.
Miss Martian still remained with the team as a team captain and instructor. Kid Flash was in college now. Wonder Girl split her time between the League, the Titans, and the Global Defense Agency through War Woman.
Some Titans had quit. While other were dead. And every time Caius looked at the roster in his head, the same old anger and guilt weighed down on his chest.
He looked over the Belfry section one more time. Cross-referencing his information. From vent access. Old schematics from before Batman's latest round of upgrades.
He had managed to identify Bat-tech security nodes from signal behavior and maintenance purchases.
A handful of blind spots that existed by design in case the Belfry was ever compromised and someone inside needed escape routes. Batman built contingencies into everything. That habit worked both ways if you were patient enough to map it.
The most useful opening sat by an external air duct hidden beneath rooftop greenery and ornamental shielding. Hard to reach without flight. Harder to notice unless you already knew what you were looking for. Good thing I do.
I looked at my watch and saw the time. Batman should be on patrol right now. By this point in the night, Bruce would be halfway across the city or deeper into one of the Narrows or Old Gotham routes depending on tonight's crime movement.
Batwoman is on duty with him. While Barbara shouldn't be on patrol tonight if my surveillance is accurate. Nightwing should be at Titans Tower or in Bludhaven.
So now is the perfect time. Caius then lowered his eyes to the small USB stick in his hand. It was Matte black. Unmarked and ordinary-looking. He began turned it between his fingers. Funny enough, getting the thing had been its own kind of mission.
He'd spent months digging through private message boards, obscure coding forums, old tech communities, shadow marketplaces, and weird corners of the web where geniuses with no social skills or moral limits sometimes sold miracles for money.
Eventually one name kept surfacing around joke malware, anti-corporate prank hacks, impossible toy AI routines, and one embarrassing Justice League satellite screen saver incident he had confirmed was definitely real.
The Toyman. Except this one is not the old one like in the shows and games. In this reality this iteration Hiro Okamura. A teenage tech genius in Japan with a ridiculous ego, terrifying skill, and a habit of treating every serious breach request like a game level someone was paying him to beat.
Caius had reached him through three intermediaries and a burner chain so convoluted it made even him tired. His request was simple.
Make a program that can infiltrate Justice league tech without leaving a trace behind. Hiro had laughed digitally at the request. Then he named the price.
One hundred thousand dollars. Caius had almost deleted the whole chain right there. But instead he paid.
Not all at once. That would have been stupid with Batman monitoring his finances. So for the last two years Caius had taken a blue-collar job at one of the larger construction companies connected to his mother's work network.
It wasn't for the money. He already had more than enough access through the Dawn holdings and the foundation structures. But steady income that looked reasonable let him shift funds gradually, hide commissions in consulting work, and justify odd expenditures.
When people asked why he was working that job, he gave the same calm answer every time. He wanted practical experience to better understand what Olympian Designs did on all levels. Which wasn't even a lie.
He had learned a lot from it and he was going to Gotham University (GSU). For Architectural and Civil Engineering.
He had just also been paying a tech menace in Japan to build a software spear sharp enough to pierce Bat-computer defenses.
He looked at the USB again.
I hope this was worth it the two years I put myself through. Not to mention I don't need Batman and the whole league kicking down my door. Because if it didn't work, first thing I'm doing before I'm caught is flying to Japan and kicking that brat's teeth in.
Caius set the USB down carefully beside the second USB drive labeled EVIDENCE and moved toward the crate where his gear was laid out.
Black tactical boots, cargo pants. Fitted black turtlenecks shirt. Leather gloves. A fitted tactical harness with slim storage compartments. And ski mask to cover most of his face. Tonight he didn't need to win a fight. He needed to get in, get the info, and get out.
Before leaving, he paused by a small metal table in the corner. There, tucked inside a simple black frame, sat a photograph of him with his parents.
Jonathan and Samira stood on either side of him, both smiling naturally. Samira's hand rested on his shoulder. Jonathan's hand sat at the small of her back. It was one of the last pictures taken before they disappeared.
Caius stared at it a little longer. Then said quietly, "I'll find you guys soon."
He turned, took both USB drives, and stepped out into the night. Gotham at full dark looked like it was built to hide secrets.
Caius flew through its sky like a shadow, his body wrapped in black and his face covered. He didn't fly openly over major streets unless he had to. Instead he stayed high when needed, low when smart, cutting through routes he had mapped over years of movement and patrol.
His tactile telekinesis wrapped around him like a second skin. It wasn't flashy tonight. He kept the field tight and controlled, turning its output inward for silence, stability, and speed. The city lights passed below in streams of yellow, white, and red.
Rooftops, water towers, antennas, gargoyles, and glass towers rolled beneath him in a blur. Sirens wailed far off in another district. Somewhere closer, a police chopper swept a spotlight across blocks that had nothing to do with him.
He landed on a nearby rooftop several buildings away from the Belfry. And crouched down, and began watching.
From here, the Belfry looked like another piece of Gotham's old architecture. The clocktower-like structure rose above the surrounding rooftops with restored stonework, hidden steel reinforcements, smart glass panels, and just enough gothic style left in it to keep Bruce's aesthetic satisfied. Most people would only see a well-preserved Gotham landmark.
Caius used his saw several hidden cameras. He watched for several minutes without moving, letting security rhythms reveal themselves.
There.
Two cameras rotated just enough to create a narrow opening. Another sensor grid dipped half a degree during recalibration.
Caius inhaled slowly, timed it, and launched.
He crossed the gap as a dark blur, body flattened against the night, tactile field cutting wind drag and dampening the sound of movement. As he passed above one lens, under another, and dropped into the blind angle by the rooftop greenery.
From there, the concealed air duct was exactly where his research said it would be. A narrow grate under decorative planting and stone shielding. He removed the grate silently, slid into the vent, and replaced it behind him.
The duct was tight, metallic, and smelled faintly of filtered air and dust. He crawled through it on elbows and knees, careful not to let the metal ring beneath him. Below, through occasional slits and service breaks, he caught glimpses of interior light, stairwells, polished floors, and one empty operations room.
He knew the route. Three turns. One vertical drop. Another crawl space. Then the main line that ran over the primary command room. He stopped above the Belfry's central space and listened.
After a few minutes nothing. No signs of movement or anyone around. Caius then eased the vent cover loose and lowered himself into the room. He levitated just off the floor before touching down without a sound.
The main Belfry chamber spread around him in dim operational light.
It was open, modern, and expensive in that very specific Bat-family way where every object looked sleek enough to belong in a billion-dollar tech lab. But severe enough to remind you all this fun was technically illegal.
A giant central computer wall curved at one end of the chamber, multiple screens dark but ready. Workstations lined one side. Tactical tables sat folded low. At the far edge of the room stood a Zeta-Tube platform ringed with faint inactive lights.
Caius breathed once. "Calm down, Cai," he whispered to himself. "You've got this."
He moved quickly to the main console. The giant screen activated the second he touched the controls, its dark surface coming alive in cold blue-white layers. An access prompt appeared instantly.
PASSWORD REQUIRED
Caius pulled out the black USB and inserted it. For thirty seconds, nothing dramatic happened. A progress bar appeared in one corner of the screen, then vanished. Lines of nonsense code flashed too fast for any normal person to track. Security requests were intercepted. One challenge response handshake looped, paused, and collapsed inward.
Then the Belfry computer opened.
Caius exhaled sharply. "Good. Now for the hard part."
He inserted the second USB, the one labeled EVIDENCE, and began feeding commands into the system, targeting archives, private logs, restricted incident files, and any material linked to Watchtower collapse records, Omni-Man, Invincible, Justice League black protocols, Dawn case files, and League internal communication around his parents' disappearance.
A new window appeared.
DECRYPTING / DOWNLOADING FILES ESTIMATED TIME REMAINING: 4:20
Caius froze.
"Four minutes? No, no, no. That's way too long."
Anything more than two minutes in a Bat-family environment was asking for disaster. Even one minute could go bad. Four meant he was gambling with his entire plan.
Caius forced himself to stay composed. Worst case, he leaps through the window and flies. Not ideal but getting caught wasn't a option.
He kept one eye on the download timer and another on the room. Four minutes dropped to three-fifty, then three-thirty, then three-ten. Every second felt stretched thin.
His heartbeat was steady, but fast. He could feel it in his throat and fingers. The hum of the Belfry systems sounded too loud now. Even the slight buzz from the Zeta-Tube platform behind him started irritating his nerves.
Then the screen ticked down to 2:20.
And that was when he felt it, a disturbance in the air, and a shift in pressure. His Instinct screamed half a fraction of a second too late.
A steel-toed boot slammed into the back of my head with brutal force. The hit sent white light bursting across my vision. I staggered hard into the console, one hand catching the edge just before my body folded forward. Pain rang through his skull.
Son of bitch. Conner always told me to be mindful of my TTK not being the best defense when my back is turned, and especially if I'm distracted.
I spun, already preparing myself for who I would see.
Caius's breath caught as he saw one of the two people he didn't want to come across tonight. Barbara Gordon stood there in full Batgirl gear.
A dark cowl pushed tight over her head. Cape falling behind her. Black or very dark blue armored suit fitted close to her body. Utility lines and compact gear locked at her waist and thighs. Her blue eyes blazed behind the mask, sharp and furious and very much awake to exactly what she was looking at.
Her stance stayed low and at the ready, her weight set for another strike. "Who are you," she snapped, "and what are you doing here?"
Caius didn't answer. His eyes flicked one glance at the terminal.
2:02
That's still too long. Barbara followed the glance instantly and saw the active process. Her expression hardened even more.
"You're trying to hack the computer."
She moved in immediately, pivoting into another kick aimed higher this time.
Caius dodged. He checked himself mid-motion, pulling back on instinct so he didn't give away the signs he was a meta. He slipped outside the kick, shoulder twisting, his head tilting just enough that the armored boot passed inches from his mask.
Barbara saw that too and her eyes narrowed. Before either of them could do more, a sound behind Caius sent an entirely different chill through him.
The Zeta-Tube. The platform behind him glowed to life in a column of white-blue light that filled the room. Energy hissed softly. Symbols flickered in the air.
A familiar voice sounded from the tube system. "Recognized: Miss Martian. B-zero-five."
Miss Martian arrived in a wash of fading light.
M'gann stepped out of the teleport beam in full civilian-Titans crossover mode, simple clothes, hair loose, posture relaxed for all of half a second until she took in the room. Her green skin caught the Belfry's cool light softly. Her eyes adjusted almost instantly.
Then she saw Batgirl in a defensive stance, and the tall masked man beside the main computer.
Confusion crossed her face first. Then concern.
"What's going on here?" she asked.
Caius thought one thing immediately. Somehow, this is worse I need to get out of here.
Barbara didn't take her eyes off him. "He broke into the Belfry and is hacking the system."
M'gann's gaze snapped toward the terminal, then back to Caius.
The air in the room changed.
Caius knew Barbara was one problem, but M'gann was another entirely.
Caius shifted his stance slightly, calculating angles.
M'gann clothes shifted into like liquid. A blue cape and hood appeared. A long black body suit formed with a red "X" across her torso. She then took a tentative step forward. " Batgirl can you hear me, I am establishing mental coms."
"I read you."
The M'gann spoke out loud, her voice remained calm. I don't know why your hear, but you don't have to do this."
M'gann then tried to get into his mind but for a long moment all she heard and saw nothing. No surface level thoughts or images in his mind.
Then she spoke to Batgirl. " Batgirl, I can't get a read on this guy. He might be a meta or trained to resist psychic readings.
"Understood. I already pressed the silent alarm the Batman and Batwoman should be here in a few minutes. Until then we try to by time if not subdue the intruder."
"Right."
Caius's face was covered but he was on edge. This situation went from bad to worse, all under five minutes.
And in any other situation he might have appreciated M'gann's offer but not tonight. Especially not when her telepathy could turn this from bad to catastrophic if she got even a glimpse of the truth in his head.
I need to get out of here now.
Caius kept his face angled away and said nothing. Barbara moved just enough to cut off his easiest path back to the vent opening.
M'gann remained nearer the Zeta-Tube, not attacking, but levitating at the ready. Neither woman had noticed the timer yet but Caius did.
1:41
I need to distract and gain some distance.
Barbara misread his silence as resistance and advanced another half-step. "Take off the mask and surrender. Now."
M'gann's eyes softened a little. "Please. You should listen while we can talk this out."
Caius made one choice instantly. He reached toward the nearest tactical table and shoved. With tactile force through contact. The table flipped sideways and crashed toward Barbara.
She reacted beautifully, dropping low and twisting out of its path while throwing one arm up to shield herself from the scatter of loose tools and screens.
At the same time Caius moved the opposite direction.
M'gann saw him coming and raised a hand. Telekinetic force slammed into the air in front of him, but Caius's own tactile field met it on contact with the floor and his boots, redistributing force through his body and redirecting his momentum. He pivoted, hit the ground with one hand, and launched himself toward the dark side of the room.
Barbara cursed behind him. "He's meta!"
Cat's out of the bag, looks like I just have hurry this up.
M'gann's eyes widened. "Wait...."
But I didn't wait.
Caius grabbed a rolling equipment cart and hurled it between them, then cut left toward the main window line. Not to escape yet. To reposition.
While the download timer kept ticking. 1:16
Barbara recovered fast and came after him, baton already in hand now. Blue current ran along its edge.
Of course she uses the same batons as Nightwing.
She swung for his ribs. Caius blocked with a forearm, feeling the shock bite through fabric and along his skin. He felt nothing and shoved her back harder than he meant to. Barbara skidded three steps, boots gripping the floor with a scraping sound.
She looked up sharply. speaking through her psychic coms. "He has enhanced strength and durability. Escalation of force will be needed."
"Roger."
M'gann throwing more objects with greater force. Which, somehow, was even more stressful. Caius was still worried about her touching his mind.
Caius then seized the overhead light controls and crushed them with a tactile pulse sent through the wall panel.
The room dropped into shadow. Not full darkness. Emergency systems kicked in instantly, painting everything in deep red low-light.
Barbara reacted like a Bat and moved in the eerie light. While M'gann reacted like a telepathic powerhouse keeping Caius moving around.
Caius dove back toward the terminal.
Barbara saw the move and lunged. Her gloved hand caught his shoulder from behind just as he reached the console.
He twisted.
She tore the ski mask halfway loose.Cold air hit part of his face. Barbara saw his skin Jawline and mouth, but not enough for full recognition. But enough to know he was young.
That pause cost her.
Caius hit the console with one hand, dragged the progress window closer, and yanked the evidence drive free the second the screen flashed:
DOWNLOAD COMPLETE
There it was, he had it.he grabbed the drive and Barbara grabbed for his wrist.
M'gann said sharply, "Don't!"
But it was too late. Caius spun and threw Barbra over his shoulder into the floor hard, then launched himself backward toward the window line.
Barbara a little winded recovered immediately.
"Stop him!"
M'gann reached out telekinetically to catch him.
Caius hit the glass with both feet and a burst of tactile force. The Belfry window exploded outward in a storm of glass and metal.
Cold Gotham night air rushed in. For one fraction of a second his body hung in the gap, half inside red emergency light, half outside open darkness.
Barbara's eyes locked on his face again as the torn mask shifted. Recognition didn't fully land. But suspicion did.
Then Caius dropped backward into the night and vanished.
M'gann shot to the broken window first, floating in the air just outside. Her eyes scanned the darkness below, then upward across the skyline.
But saw nothing. Just the distant city lights.
Barbara reached the window beside her a second later, chest heaving, one hand still gripping her charged baton.
"Did you see where he went?"
M'gann's expression stayed troubled. "No."
Barbara looked down at the shattered glass, then back at the computer. Then at the torn strip of black fabric still caught on the edge of a console bracket from when she'd grabbed him.
Her breath came slower now, but her mind was racing.
The intruder had moved like a trained fighter, and being a meta on top of that. Only a few people fit those categories. That throw it was perfect to.
He fought like someone who knew Bat-style response patterns. And he avoided showing his face at all costs.
M'gann turned from the window, face tight with concern. "Barbara… whoever that was...."
Barbara cut in quietly. "I know."
And standing in the darkened Belfry with broken glass at her boots and the hacked system still glowing behind her, Batgirl felt something cold settle in her stomach.
Because for the first time since seeing the intruder, a possibility had started to take shape in her mind. One she did not want to believe.
Somewhere above Gotham, hidden in darkness, Caius flew fast with the evidence drive clenched in one hand. He felt anxious and excited at the same time.
His heart just wouldn't stop pounding. But at least he now had the files. And that meant tonight had been worth it.
Time to see what secrets Batman and League are hiding.