The desert stretched endless and empty, dunes rising like waves under a merciless sun. Wind howled, grains of sand biting at exposed skin.
Ryotaro woke to the sting. His throat was dry, his head aching like someone had driven spikes through his mind. He sat up, blinking at the barren horizon.
"Where… am I?"
He looked down at himself. His clothes were dusty, the faint weight of his belt and Driver felt familiar—but foreign. Something was missing.
Something important.
He tried to recall. School… Kara's laughter… his uncle's stern but kind voice… then—nothing. Just fog.
A sharp cry split the wind. Ryotaro turned. A girl with red hair—Artemis—stood twenty feet away, bow raised, an arrow nocked.
"Stay back!" she barked, aiming directly at him.
Ryotaro froze. "…I don't want to fight."
Her eyes narrowed. "Then explain yourself! Who are you? Why are you here?"
Before he could answer, another figure stumbled into view—Kid Flash, goggles cracked, sand sticking to his uniform.
"Whoa, whoa! Time-out! Who are you aiming at?"
Artemis didn't lower her bow. "Him. I don't trust his face."
Kid Flash squinted. "…I don't remember his face."
That made Ryotaro's chest tighten. He didn't remember theirs either. But deep inside, he felt a connection. Something linking them, even if the names slipped away.
"I… think we're on the same side," Ryotaro muttered, voice hoarse.
Artemis's arrow wavered slightly.
Before the tension could snap, a deafening roar thundered from the dunes. The ground trembled. All three turned as a massive armored vehicle crested the ridge—Bialyan patrol forces, bristling with weapons.
"Run!" Kid Flash shouted.
Instinct kicked in. Ryotaro didn't argue. He sprinted with them into the sandstorm. His legs knew how to move, how to balance, even as his mind screamed confusion.
'Why can't I remember?'
Elsewhere, chaos rippled.
Superboy awoke in a crater of glassed sand, fists clenched, fury boiling in his chest with no target. Miss Martian drifted nearby, fear in her wide eyes as she probed her thoughts only to find… gaps.
Robin crouched on a dune, hand to his forehead. His lenses flickered, trying to calculate, to reason. Nothing aligned. "Six months… missing?" he muttered, shaken.
And Aqualad, their leader, laying down alone.
One by one, the fragmented team stumbled toward each other across the desert wastes, suspicion and half-remembered bonds twisting their every move.
Ryotaro trailed beside Kid Flash and Artemis, his Lostdriver silent, the Joker Memory tucked away. He didn't know what it meant—but when his fingers brushed the device, a faint pulse echoed through him, like a reminder of something half-forgotten.
Hours passed. The desert seemed endless, but survival pressed them together.
Kid Flash groaned, collapsing under a thin patch of shade cast by wreckage. "We're toast. No food, no water, no clue. I don't even know if we're supposed to be friends or enemies."
Artemis crossed her arms. "Speak for yourself. I know I don't trust you."
Kid Flash shot up. "What? What'd I even do?!"
"You exist," she snapped back.
Ryotaro sat apart, silent. His gaze lingered on the horizon, but his thoughts spiraled inward.
Fragments surfaced—smiles, books, a girl with glasses. A belt glowing faintly. A blade of light. Screams of monsters.
He clenched his fists. "I… know we've fought together before."
Artemis's eyes narrowed. "How can you be sure?"
"Because....." Ryotaro looked at them, steady despite the confusion. "…my instincts say I should protect you guys."
The words silenced them both.
Before either could reply, a shadow passed overhead. A scouting drone swept across the dunes, its sensor beam cutting close.
Robin's voice came through the comms—unexpected, sudden. "Stay low! Recon drones everywhere. We can't risk detection."
Kid Flash tapped his ear in shock. "Wait, we have comms?!"
"Barely. This is the psychic attack scrambled our memories," Robin explained, voice clipped. "We're in Bialya, and Queen Bee's behind this I think. Mission compromised."
Ryotaro frowned. The name Queen Bee stirred something in his chest—like a scar he couldn't see.
Robin's tone sharpened. "Meet point Delta in thirty minutes. And try not to kill each other before then."
Static cut the signal.
Artemis sighed. "Great. Orders from the guy I don't remember."
But Ryotaro stood. "It's a direction. That's enough."
Something in his calm presence steadied the group. Reluctantly, they followed.
The reunion was uneasy but necessary. The team gathered at a ruined outpost, weapons drawn, eyes flicking suspiciously between each other.
Miss Martian's voice wavered. "I think I know you guys because I feel it. We're connected. Somehow. Maybe I can get my psychic wave to make you guys remember but you guys need to open your brain to let me in."
Robin stepped forward, his tone firm. "Then let's start with that."
Kid Flash said with curious. "What should we do?"
Artemis sighed heavily and said. "You can't look deep okay. You can only make us remember about six months."
With that Robin,Miss Martian, Kid Flash, Artemis and Ryotaro hold their hands each other and the psychic waves drill into their minds and they started to remember everything.
Ryotaro said with panic expression. "Superboy and Aqualad are missing. We need to search them."
Robin said with command. "Kid Flash, Artemis and Megan will look for them. I and Rider will go to complete the mission. We will see each other in Bioship."
Kid Flash, Artemis and Megan are searching for the trails of the other two members. Suddenly, the loud explosion make the silent night show the activity happened around here. Megan with her psychic power moves towards the noises. Kid Flash and Artemis also went after her. When they get over the sand dunes, they saw the Aqualad fainted from the heat.
Kid Flash check the Aqualad's conditions and said to Artemis with panic expression.
"We need to go back and treat him. Megan can look for Superboy. Let's go."
On the other side, Robin is typing the keypads with precision and Ryotaro is looking out for the ambush. Robin asked curiously.
"So, your name is Ryotaro Nogami...huh."
"Yes."
"How did you get that belt and power?"
"I just chosen by someone."
"Then how do you fight so well?"
"I just can."
"So, you don't want to answer me. I am sad you know." Robin said with a teasing smile.
"Are you done? We need to help others."
"Okay. Fine. It's done. Let's go to our Bioship."
*********
Leave the comments and review for this chapter.
Thank you for reading my book.
If you like this book, you can vote and support me with some power stones.