A Hollow in DC

As me and the teenage members of the future Young Justice members just chilled watching some TV Batman's prior words about who I could even spare with seemed to bite me in the ass as the teenagers seemed to take his words as a sort of challenge that only Superboy was my match.

"I'd tell you, man. If you can't touch me, all the strength in the world is worthless!" Kid Flash said smugly.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I responded using his first name as he said that, saying Kid Flash was a mouthful if we weren't on the field as it were. "Yeah, and should I smush you to the ground with my spiritual pressure then you can't even crawl away." I sniped back.

"Oh, that's its newbie! You and me on the mats now!" Wally said cockily as he pulled down his visor past his eyes making me groan at his competitive teenage nature.

"Wally, I don't even want to fight you... But honestly, such a thing would probably be for the best so you guys can get a feeling for my abilities." But then as I stood up stoically my carefully leashed spiritual pressure was unfurled vibrating the air making everyone keel over basically besides Superboy who had a strong enough physique to resist it and Aqualad whose magic experience had inured him to such things as excessively powerful magic.

"Wally this is my spiritual strength at being halfway let completely loose. If we were to fight at my level of strength it would be like you fighting someone going at half speed. If I merely opened the valves to my full power, you could literally die with the way you and Robin have keeled over to the ground." I said pulling back my spiritual pressure and collapsing back into the couch I was previously sitting it as I sighed.

"I don't mind fighting purely in a physical match with Superboy but I have no interest in being punched around by you going at super speeds and being unable to retaliate due to you collapsing in a heap should I flex my powers." I finished making Kid Flash huff before nodding in understanding.

"However,... Tomorrow if you have free time. I would love to race you." I offered knowing it was right up his alley and frankly what kid that read comics wouldn't want to race a speedster with their own powers?

Kid Flash hearing me offering an olive branch met my grin with his own cocky smile as he clapped his hands in excitement. "Ha. In this case, I welcome your challenge. We shall duel at dawn then!"

Me and the other guys once we smoothed over our meeting we began to make some conversation with one another although Superboy was frankly a bit of a downer as he just came out of Cadmus and was still salty about how his gene donor Superman seemingly didn't want anything to do with him.

Literally the definition of daddy issues with this one.

"Well seeing as we are all probably tired how about we all get some rest as we got Red Tornado coming to be our chaperone and with him being a super robot, I imagine he will probably keep us on a tight leash," I called out as Superboy and Kid Flash were nodding off and they just yawned in agreement with Wally having to wipe some gunk out of his eyes as he waved me off.

"Yeah Yeah. He is probably right g'night Robin and the rest of you guys I am going to hit the hay." Wally said as he walked at a normal speed towards the room he claimed.

Seeing Wally heading off I likewise stretched as I got up and said my goodbyes as I headed off to my room with a large two-liter of iced tea to keep me hydrated through the night much to the confusion of Superboy when he asked why I took the whole jug with me.

"Dear sweet summer child, one day you will understand the sheer convenience of having drinks beside your bed and not needing to run across half a house just to drink a cup of water." I consoled giving the clone a pat on his shoulder as I passed his bewildered form.

"But that's tea, not water?" He muttered scratching his head in confusion as I closed my door cutting his antics off from my view as I collapsed into bed with the jug filled with iced tea placed onto my chest to cool me down.

"It's too warm in here," I muttered sighing as I recalled a little-known fact about hell. Where the wasn't lava directly exposed to the air or just below the surface it was unsurprisingly cold as Hell as there was no sun or greenhouse gases keeping in the heat. If anything, there was a tiny band of a sort of light on the horizon that supposedly Lucifer brought to Hell to remind the human souls that reached Hell that no matter how long they waited they would never see the light of day again or something equally edgy.

So, I was kind of missing the cold of Hell and honestly, I was the same in my previous life where I loved the winter and hated the hot summers, I had to endure just sweating to death in my eighty-degree apartment.

'Maybe I will keep one of those freeze rays' villains use to keep my room cold.' I thought as I slowly drifted off into sleep.

-

I was once again awoken by the room's intercom buzzing to life but instead of Batman's voice waking me up, it was his protégé Robin speaking through the comms. "Everyone wake up I made English-style breakfast!"

'Ugh... Of course, a kid raised by Alfred Penny-Worth would make a heavy English-style breakfast first thing in the morning.' I mentally grumbled as I got myself quickly cleaned up before leaving my room and heading towards the kitchen.

Then low and behold arrayed on the large kitchen dining table was a plate for each of us with the standard English fare consisting of bacon, sausage links, fired tomato slices, fried eggs, and lastly a couple of pieces of well-buttered toast.

"Thank you for the breakfast, Robin," I said thankful for the meal as I got myself a cup of watermelon juice to go with my food from the fridge.

"Woah we can get watermelon juice with breakfast. Screw orange juice then," Wally said happily as he chugged his glass of orange juice before he comically shuddered at its strong flavor and then used his super speed to pour himself some watermelon juice as we all dug into our food.

After we finished eating and putting the dishes into the dishwasher, we

then met up at the mission area and low and behold Batman was there with Red Arrow or Speedy whatever his name was, the guy who was Green Arrow's apprentice/sidekick.

"We have a mission for you all," Batman spoke with Speedy huffing and standing beside Batman as he spoke to us all. "Speedy has a mission in Shanghai that's of high importance. The villain known as Brick who is a member of Green Arrows gallery of villains has restarted his gun trade but instead of here in America where we can freely shut down his operations, he now is running his operations in Shanghai which is a political mess to say the least."

Batman then cleared his throat before he continued to debrief. "So keeping to your role as black ops units your mission is to be as quiet as possible and subdue Brick that way the Shanghai police can sweep up his gang as the police cannot handle a low-tier superhuman without activating military units that will just send him running to the hills."

Finally, he turned to Speedy and as he was telling us how Speedy was going to lead our group as he was the one with all the intel having tracked down Brick himself, I noticed something and remembered something very pressing.

"Batman important question!" I called out cutting him off and making him frown before nodding to me. "I am not at all judging as Superboy has proven to be pretty chill with him being a clone and all, but Speedy cannot see or hear me at all with how he is a clone is he new or something?"

The whole room froze as my words registered to them and Batman's hands firmly balled into a fist as Speedy just cocked his head and looked around in confusion at how everyone was looking at him so oddly.

"What's up, guys? What's wrong?" Speedy asked obviously off-put at how dead silent the room went.

But Batman didn't respond and instead just growled in my direction and spat out. "Explain your proof other than him not being able to perceive you.

Honestly, I didn't have any real proof, but I had a good analogy that could work. "Just as a son carries a wisp of their mother's soul from being birthed by them. So do Superboy and Speedy carry the same weak wisp of connection to being born in the same manner? Plus, he is a teenager, and from the pure size of his soul despite his hero work that would push it a Hero's soul, it's nowhere near the purity, strength, and size of a normal soul for a late teenager."

Batman stilled and before anyone could react, he pivoted, and his elbow crashed into the back of Speedy's head making him collapse into a dead faint within Batman's arms. "The mission will be taken care of by League personnel! Mount Justice is hereby under lockdown, and no one is to enter, or leave am I understood Robin." He said with steel to his tone as he hoisted Speedy up and walked towards the teleporter.

"Yes sir!" Robin called understanding how the League has clearly been infiltrated but it was clear that even though they were worried for their friend they still felt a bit bummed that the mission was canceled.

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