Shadow Monarch in DC

The world had found something new to look at, every major network, every independent stream, every shaky phone camera pointed in the same direction, toward Gotham.

Helicopters circled at a cautious distance, their rotors chopping through the air as pilots refused to get any closer than necessary. Even from miles away, the Gate dominated the skyline.

On one broadcast, the anchor leaned forward slightly, her voice sharpened with barely contained excitement. "What you’re seeing right now is unprecedented. Since the first appearance of Gates across the globe, we have never recorded anything of this magnitude. This one.. this is on an entirely different scale."

The feed cut to aerial footage, the Gate filling the frame even from a wide angle, Gotham’s buildings reduced to silhouettes beneath it.

"We’re being told that high-ranking Hunters are already en route," another reporter added, speaking over the roar of a helicopter. "S-rank teams, possibly multiple guilds coordinating. If there was ever a moment to demonstrate the true extent of their power, this is it."

A split screen appeared, showing a panel discussion.

One of the commentators, a former military analyst turned media figure, spoke with firm confidence.

"Let’s not forget, Hunters have been dealing with Gates for two months now. They’ve adapted, and in many cases surpassed expectations. Some of these individuals are being compared to the Justice League’s strongest members."

He gestured toward the footage.

"Yes, this is bigger. Yes, it’s different. But if anyone can handle it, it’s them. This will be the ultimate test, not just for Hunters, but for the protectors of this world as a whole."

The tone across every channel was the same.

Confident almost arrogant,

but Blind.

None of them knew what they were looking at.

High above the city, at the very top of Wayne Tower, the Gate loomed just as large.

It didn’t matter how far you were.

You could see it anywhere.

Superman stood near the edge, his gaze fixed on the distant anomaly, eyes narrowing slightly as he took in details no camera could fully capture. Beside him, Batman remained still, cape barely shifting in the wind, while Kara stood a few steps ahead, arms loosely at her sides, her expression more focused than concerned.

Behind them, other members of the Justice League gathered, quieter than usual, their attention drawn to the same impossible sight.

"It’s not like the others, I tried to punch through it but.." Kara said at last, "I can almost sense the calamity behind this one."

Batman didn’t look away from the Gate.

"It’s sealed," he said. "No fluctuation in the entry point. No partial openings. Nothing has crossed over, so yes it is different from the usual gates."

Superman frowned slightly. "So all we can do is wait."

"For now." Kara exhaled slowly, her eyes still locked on the swirling mass.

"If Arthur was here..." she murmured, almost to herself. "He’d know exactly what this is. And what we’re supposed to do about it."

Batman’s voice followed, calm.

"He already told us enough."

That pulled Superman’s attention toward him.

"When he left," Bruce continued, "he shared everything he could about the entities behind the Gates. The ones above the regular monsters we’ve been dealing with alongside the awakened hunters."

He paused for a moment.

"This matches his description."

Kara’s expression tightened slightly.

"...A Monarch."

Batman gave a small nod.

"Worst-case scenario," he said. "One of them is on the other side of that Gate."

The wind shifted around them, carrying the distant noise of the city, sirens, helicopters, the restless movement of people who didn’t fully understand what they were standing beneath.

Superman’s gaze dropped, scanning the streets below.

"They’re still there," he said quietly. "Civilians, Reporters and hunters."

From this height, the crowd looked small.

But there were too many of them.

"Evacuation isn’t complete."

Batman’s tone didn’t change.

"It won’t be."

Superman glanced at him.

"People are leaving," Bruce clarified, "but not the ones who think they belong there. Hunters, Media and of course Government officials, you know how it is. The closer the danger, the more valuable the story."

Superman’s jaw tightened slightly.

"We should clear them out, this is no time to cover a story."

"We can’t force them," Batman said. "We can only be ready to save them."

That settled between them for a moment.

Then Superman straightened slightly, his gaze lifting back toward the Gate, something resolute settling into his posture.

"If it opens... and something comes through, something like what Arthur described..."

He didn’t hesitate.

"I’ll engage it alone."

Kara turned her head toward him.

"I’ll draw it away from the city, toward the sea, toward space even." he added. "Keep its focus on me."

Batman didn’t react immediately.

But Kara did.

"You’re thinking too small," she said.

Superman frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"These Monarchs," she continued, her eyes returning to the Gate, "they will not come alone."

"You’ve seen Arthur’s vast army," she said. "His shadows."

She looked at him again.

"These Beings? They’re the same. Each one commands an army of its own, Arthur is currently fighting them, alone."

The realization settled quickly.

"If that Gate belongs to one of them," Kara finished, "then we’re not just dealing with a single threat."

Superman’s expression shifted.

"...We’re dealing with an invasion."

He looked back down at the city.

At Gotham.

"I don’t know if this city can survive that."

Kara didn’t look away from the Gate.

"It won’t," she said quietly. "Not if it comes to that."

Then, she added firmer,

"But we’ll stop them here before it gets worse."

Batman finally turned slightly, his gaze sweeping across the city beneath them, then back to the Gate.

"Gotham has been destroyed before," he said. "More than once yet it’s still standing."

He stepped forward slightly, the wind catching his cape as he did.

"I’ve already deployed teams across the city," he continued. "Strategic points. Evacuation corridors. Defensive positions."

Superman glanced at him.

"For what scenario?"

Batman’s eyes remained on the Gate.

"The worst one."

Then Superman allowed himself a small, almost amused smile.

"That’s your plan?" he asked. "Hold the line and hope for the best?"

For a second,

Batman almost smiled, but it wasn’t humor.

"You might represent Hope," he said quietly, "But hope to me is never the plan."

He turned his head just enough.

"There are contingencies in place."

Kara huffed faintly under her breath,

"Of course there are."

****

From a certain rooftop where the Titans had taken position, Robin stood near the edge, his stance rigid, staff resting lightly in his hand as his eyes traced every movement the Gate made.

"How long will it take?" he asked without turning. "Before it opens."

Cyborg, a few steps behind him, had his arm partially transformed, a holographic display flickering above his palm as streams of data ran across it in rapid succession. His systems were working overtime, cross-referencing every known Gate event, every recorded anomaly.

"If we’re going by standard Gate behavior," he began, "they stay active for about seven days."

He paused, adjusting something in the display, his mechanical eye narrowing slightly.

"If we don’t clear them within that window, you get a dungeon break. Everything inside spills out into our world, it happened a few times already."

Robin glanced back at him briefly. "And this one?"

Cyborg hesitated for a second.

"This one’s different," he admitted. "It’s already sealed. No entry point, no fluctuation, nothing we can interact with."

His gaze shifted toward the Gate again, something uneasy settling beneath his usual confidence.

"If we assume the same timeline still applies... then we’re not at the start of the clock, we’re somewhere in the middle."

Robin’s grip on his staff tightened slightly.

"How much?"

Cyborg exhaled slowly.

"Four days. Maybe less."

The number didn’t sit well with anyone.

Starfire hovered just above the rooftop, her hair drifting like a living flame as her green eyes studied the Gate with open concern.

"That is... not much time," she said softly. "If what emerges is as dangerous as the others have suggested..."

Her voice trailed off, but the implication remained.

Blue Beetle shifted beside her, "Yeah, no kidding," he muttered, glancing up at the thing. "That’s not a ’send in a team and call it a day’ kind of situation."

Then

Raven spoke.

"I wonder if Arthur has something to do with this."

Her voice was quiet, but it pulled everyone’s attention toward her.

She stood slightly apart from the others, her cloak still despite the wind, her gaze fixed on the Gate in a way that felt... deeper than simple observation.

Robin frowned. "You think he caused it?"

Raven shook her head faintly.

"No," she said. "Not that he caused it."

Her violet eyes narrowed slightly,

"But he would know, he should be able to feel something like this," she continued. "Something on this scale... it’s not subtle for someone like him."

Blue Beetle tilted his head slightly. "So can you reach him? Like, magic call or... whatever you do?"

Raven’s expression shifted just slightly.

"I’ve tried, the moment this thing appeared I tried to contact him but.."

That was enough to change the tone.

"There’s nothing," she said, quieter now. "No connection and no response."

Her gaze dropped for a moment in frustration.

"Even his shadows here..." she added, her voice tightening just a fraction, "they feel... disconnected. Like they’ve been cut off from him entirely."

Cyborg frowned. "That’s not normal, is it?"

"No," Raven said. "Which means wherever he is..."

She looked back up at the Gate.

"...it’s interfering with everything."

Blue Beetle crossed his arms,

"And what kind of place does that?" he asked. "I mean, what kind of place is your boyfriend in right now?"

"I don’t know," Raven said.

There was no hesitation in the answer.

And that, more than anything, made it worse.

"He didn’t tell me much," she continued, her voice steady. "Not because he couldn’t... but because he knew I’d try to reach him if he did."

A faint breath left her,

"He wants to fight this on his own."

Starfire’s expression softened slightly. "And you respect his choice."

Raven nodded once.

"Of course I do... but that doesn’t mean I have to like it."

Her gaze lingered on the Gate,

"Because if something like that is appearing here..." she murmured, almost to herself, "...I have a terrible feeling that he..."

She didn’t finish.

Robin stepped forward slightly, his voice firm.

"Whatever it is, we deal with what’s in front of us first, Arthur can handle his own battles."

He looked at each of them in turn.

"We hold this position. We follow Batman’s orders. And when that thing opens."

His eyes shifted back to the Gate.

"They will be the ones trying to survive."

/-\

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