Dick stiffened immediately, staff snapping into defensive position, his easy grin gone. "...Ryotaro Nogami," he said carefully, eyes narrowing. "Why are you here? I know you didn't come back here for sightseeing. And we all thought you were dead."
"I was gone. Not dead." Ryotaro's voice was steady, detached, but his eyes—visible now as the faceless mask melted away—were sharp, calculating, almost sorrowful. "Death is kinder than the places I've walked."
Damian stopped struggling, his pride momentarily overshadowed by curiosity. "Who is this?"
"Someone you're not ready for," Dick snapped. "Stay out of this."
Ryotaro glanced at Damian, studying him like a hawk eyeing prey. "...So this is Damian Wayne. The son of the Bat."
"You know me?" Damian demanded, insulted by the man's tone.
"I know of you," Ryotaro corrected, folding his arms. "The boy raised in blood, shadow, and arrogance. Talia's temper. Ra's al Ghul's pride. Bruce's stubborn silence." His eyes flicked to Dick. "A dangerous mix. You're right to tie him up, Grayson."
That stung Damian like a blade. "You dare insult me?!"
"Calm down," Dick growled, but his gaze never left Ryotaro. "You didn't come here to critique parenting. What are you doing in Blüdhaven?"
Ryotaro turned his back to them, walking slowly toward the wrecked car still smoldering from Damian's reckless pursuit. His armored boots crunched glass beneath them. "This city stinks of trafficking rings. Cobblepot's influence is spreading faster than Gotham can contain. But Penguin is only a symptom. Something else is moving behind the scenes."
Dick followed cautiously, staff still in hand. "You mean the Light."
Ryotaro didn't answer directly. He knelt by the broken car, dragging out a half-conscious man, his face tattooed with a serpent. The man babbled incoherently, eyes glazed as though half-mad. Ryotaro dropped him like trash.
"Slade Wilson isn't alone anymore," Ryotaro said coldly. "And the people funding him which you don't need to know."
Ryotaro finally turned to face them both, his expression grim. "You know Dick I never forget that day. It has been nightmare for me. If you ever try to stop in my ways again, I am not going to hold back. After all Worms,Fangires, Orphnochs like monsters are starting to emerge around the world."
He glanced back at Damian. "And if you keep fighting each other, you'll both be corpses before you realize what you're facing."
Damian growled. "I don't need lessons from some masked coward. If these 'monsters' come, I'll cut them down myself—"
"Enough!" Dick barked, slamming his staff into the pavement to silence Damian. Then, quieter, he told Ryotaro, "You have changed too much. What happened to Kara was...."
"DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO DOWN PLAY THAT ACCIDENT! And I didn't come back to argue with you."
His form shimmered once more, light bending unnaturally around him as if reality itself rejected his presence. Before disappearing fully, Ryotaro's voice echoed, sharp as steel:
"Tell Bruce…. I'm coming back."
And then, he was gone. Only the sound of the night wind over broken glass remained.
Damian stared at the spot where Ryotaro vanished, conflicted fury in his chest. "Tch. Who does he think he is?"
But Dick… Dick knew better. He stared into the shadows, his jaw tight. "A storm's coming, kid. Now, let's go to the Mount Justice."
Mount Justice ~ January 2, 09:45 EST ~
The cavernous halls of Mount Justice were quieter than usual. Screens hummed, consoles blinked faintly, but the air was heavy. Heavy with the weight of the news Nightwing had carried back from Blüdhaven.
The younger heroes gathered around the long meeting table—Robin (Tim Drake), Superboy, Miss Martian, Artemis, Kid Flash II, Zatanna, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Blue Beetle (Jaime), Beast boy, Bumblebee, Lagoon Boy and Robin (Damiam Wayne).Their chatter had died quickly when Nightwing walked in, mask pulled low, his tone graver than they'd ever seen.
Nightwing stood at the head of the table, hands braced on the edge. His shadow stretched across the polished surface. Behind him, the giant screen flickered to life, showing a name and face most of them didn't recognize:
Ryotaro Nogami.
A still image of him—dark eyes, sharp, almost haunted—projected onto the wall.
Nightwing's voice was low. "You need to know who he is. Because whether we want him to or not, Ryotaro is back."
Blue Beetle frowned, leaning forward. "Okay, who is he exactly? Another broody Gotham vigilante?"
"No," Nightwing said sharply, silencing the sarcasm. He turned toward the hologram, his eyes narrowing behind his mask. "Ryotaro Nogami… was one of us. A member of Young Justice, years before some of you joined. He fought beside us, saved lives, carried more than his share of burdens. But he also—"
He paused. His hand curled into a fist on the table. "…He also lost everything."
The screen shifted, now displaying a Smart Brain Corporation logo—sleek silver lettering against black.
"He disappeared after the National City's disaster. Everyone assumed he died. Instead, he resurfaced in Japan. Built Smart Brain into a global tech empire. But under that, he's been… building weapons. Systems. Riders."
The word Riders sent a murmur through the room. Tim Drake's brows furrowed. "Like… those monsters that attacked Tokyo and other asia countries? The ones the news barely covered?"
Nightwing nodded. "Orphnochs. Fangires. Worms and other monsters which we didn't know. They don't belong here, but they're here. And Ryotaro… he's the only one who's fought them before. He's become… something else. Something dangerous. And now he's back in the U.S."
Batgirl looked uneasy, her voice soft. "Why did he leave? If he was one of us…"
Nightwing's jaw tightened. He walked toward the sliding stone doors that opened to another chamber. "Follow me."
The team rose and followed. The Hall of Heroes was cold, silent. The stone chamber stretched tall, filled with statues, holograms, and memorials of fallen heroes. The air here always pressed against their chests like a weight.
Three memorials stood at the center, illuminated by soft white light.
Jason Todd.
Ted Kord.
Kara Danvers.
Supergirl's statue, carved in her iconic pose, eyes raised skyward, was the one Nightwing stopped at. His silence told more than words.
"…She died on his watch," Nightwing said finally, his voice raw, almost breaking through the mask of calm. "Ryotaro… he was closest to her. They trusted each other. He blamed himself for what happened and even us. Everyone from the Justice League also."
Artemis lowered her head. Kid Flash swallowed hard.
Blue Beetle shifted uncomfortably, his usual levity gone. "…So that's why he left the team."
Nightwing nodded. "Yes. That accident—her death—changed him." His eyes narrowed, remembering Ryotaro's words. DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO DOWN PLAY THAT ACCIDENT!
Nightwing turned back to the group, his voice firm. "He's not the same Ryotaro we once knew. He's colder. More dangerous. And now, he's leading Smart Brain Tech, controlling new technologies and army of Rider Systems."
Robin (Tim) finally spoke, his tone analytical. "So, the Light… Penguin… Deathstroke… all of this connects back to him?"
"Not directly," Nightwing admitted, "but he's moving in the same direction as they are. And if his warning is true—that the Light has aligned with forces outside this world—then things are worse than we thought."
The silence that followed was heavy. Only the hum of the cave's systems filled the space. Each hero's gaze lingered on the memorials. The ghosts of Jason, Ted, Kara seemed to watch them, silent reminders of what the failure cost.
Nightwing finally said, "…We need to prepare. Investigate the Light's movements before Ryotaro does. Because if we don't, he'll make his move. And when he does..." His jaw tightened. "…he won't hold back. Not against enemies. Not against us."
The team exchanged uneasy glances. The words hung in the Hall of Heroes, as if etched into the stone itself.
*********
Thank you for reading my book.
Leave the comments and review for this chapter.
If you like this book, you can vote and support me with some power stones.