The Mission Room of Mount Justice was quiet except for the soft hum of the holographic globe that still revolved above the ground. The cavernous space seemed even colder with most of the League absent. Only Batman waited in the middle of the room, arms crossed, the shadows of his cowl carving sharp lines across his face.
Dante Attano strode in as if he had just returned from an errand instead of a bloody incursion in a war-torn country. His black coat was dusted with faint soot and dried mud. Artemis walked at his side, her posture stiff, her eyes set forward but wary. Her hand brushed the quiver at her hip more than once — a tic she did not usually betray.
Batman's gaze followed them silently as they approached. His presence alone felt like the weight of judgment.
"Report," he said at last, his voice as flat as the blade of a knife.
Dante didn't bother with formalities. He slid his phone from his coat pocket and tossed it on Batman's hand. The screen lit up: a single image of Grigor Vostek lying on a blood-stained concrete floor, his arms bent at impossible angles, his face a swollen ruin.
"Target neutralized," Dante said, tone casual. "Not dead. Permanently crippled. He won't be rebuilding his network, won't be running anything again. I made sure of it."
Batman's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
Dante met that black-rimmed gaze without blinking. "Arms and legs shattered at the major joints. Eyes blinded. Ears torn off. Tongue removed. All necessary — he ran a network of traffickers who specialized in selling children. He liked to use his mouth to taunt and command. I took that from him. He's breathing, barely. He'll live to rot."
There was no gloating in his voice — only the simple recital of steps taken. That somehow made it worse.
"You were ordered to end the threat," Batman said, the edge of disapproval sharp in his voice. "You weren't ordered to torture."
Dante shrugged, one shoulder rolling under his coat. "Some threats deserve to remember what they did. Besides, he can testify if the League ever wants his network rolled up in court. I left him alive for that. You're welcome."
Batman's jaw shifted slightly, but his voice remained low. "And the slaves?"
"Freed. Medical transport arranged. I had Miss Martian deliver them to the nearest neutral-zone hospital and wipe the worst of their memories so they won't live with everything they saw." He leaned back slightly, tone still unbothered. "You'll get the coordinates to every cache, ledger, and safehouse I pulled from Vostek's lieutenants. They won't be rebuilding."
Artemis stood silently at his side, watching the exchange. For all her years in the field, she had never stood next to anyone who sounded so casual about such horrors.
Batman's eyes shifted to her. "Artemis. Your assessment."
She hesitated — only for a heartbeat — then gave the field report. "The captives are safe. The compound is dismantled. We have the data. But…" She glanced at Dante, then back to Batman. "The methods were… extreme. Efficient but extreme."
Dante didn't bother to look at her. "You called me in for this job because you wanted results. You got them."
Batman's frown deepened. "We'll review your actions with the League."
"Do what you want." Dante turned and began walking away from the room. "I will wait for Artemis and go to the next person in target."
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Artemis lingered in the empty room for a few moments, gathering herself. She had done field reports before — she had seen ugly things. But the image of Vostek's mutilated body and Dante's calm confession of an eight-thousand-plus kill count lingered at the back of her mind.
When she finally left the Mission Room, she didn't head for the exit. Her feet carried her instead to the private comms wing, where she keyed in a secure channel. The line connected after a brief delay; the small holographic screen flickered to life, showing Diana's face.
"Artemis," Diana greeted her, her tone soft but edged with concern. "You've returned?"
"Yes," Artemis said. Her voice was steadier than she felt. "We brought back the captives. The mission's objective was achieved. But I need to speak to you — privately."
Diana inclined her head. "I'm listening."
Artemis took a breath. "You told us Dante was… unconventional. That was an understatement. I've fought beside killers before, Diana, but I've never seen anything like what he did to Vostek. He dismantled him — piece by piece. Not for interrogation. Just… to make sure he could never be what he was again."
Diana's expression darkened, but she waited.
"That's not all," Artemis continued. "On the way through the compound, he… he said something. About practice." She shook her head slightly. "He's mastered snapping a person's neck without killing them. Said it took him eight hundred seventy-five tries. Then he told me his total kill count." Her green eyes met Diana's over the comm feed. "Eight thousand, four hundred twenty-two. He said it like it was a fact from a field manual."
For a moment, Diana said nothing. The line was quiet except for the faint hum of the transmission.
Finally, the Amazon spoke, her voice lower than before. "I suspected the number was high. I did not know how high."
Artemis's voice softened. "I know he's effective. I saw the people he saved tonight. But the way he talks about it — there's no remorse. Not even anger. Just.. a walk in the beach"
Diana's gaze was steady. "That is why I chose to keep him where we can see him. And why I sent you. He listens to me — perhaps because I was the first to reach him before he went further down that path. I cannot excuse what he has done. But I will not ignore the lives he has saved either."
Artemis shifted, her arms crossing loosely. "Well. You took one hell of a person Diana. Ares might like him as his personal Assassin."
Artemis's words hung in the air for a beat, the faint static of the comm line filling the silence. Diana's eyes narrowed, but not in anger—more in a kind of thoughtful unease.
"Ares would," Diana admitted at last. "Dante's nature would have suited him. But that is also why I intervened. If left alone, he would have become a weapon in the hands of the worst among us. I will not allow that."
Artemis let out a short, humorless laugh. "Well, congratulations. You saved him from Ares. But I'm not sure you saved us from Dante."
Diana's lips pressed into a thin line. "He is dangerous, yes. But he does not kill indiscriminately. That… matters. I have seen men who slaughter without cause or purpose. Dante does not strike as they do. He believes, however warped it may sound to us, that his actions are for the greater good."
"Greater good…" Artemis muttered.
For a moment, the two women regarded each other in silence across the comm link. Finally, Diana added, "Keep your guard up around him. But also… try to see the man behind the blade. There is still one there, buried deep beneath the blood. I believe that. Otherwise, I would never have brought him to the League."
Artemis gave a small, humorless smile. "You always did have a thing for lost causes."
That brought the faintest curve to Diana's lips. "Perhaps. But sometimes lost causes are worth saving."
Artemis blew out a slow breath. "Alright. I'll… keep trying. But if he decides to go full Ares, I'm not standing in his way. I'll put an arrow through his eye."
Diana's gaze softened. "I would expect nothing less."
The comm link blinked off, leaving Artemis alone in the booth. She stood there for a moment, staring at her reflection in the darkened screen. Then she shook her head and left, her boots echoing softly against the corridor floor.
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"Dante," Artemis called, breaking the quiet between them.
"Yeah?" he replied without looking up, his voice casual, as if they were discussing the weather.
"How long… since you started doing your—" she hesitated, searching for the right word. "—your vigilante thing?" The way she said it made it clear she wasn't sure whether to call him a hero or an assassin.
Dante tilted his head slightly, as if giving it genuine thought. "Hm… about two years."
Artemis blinked. "Two years? And you've already killed eight thousand people?"
"Yeah." He shrugged, almost nonchalant. "Back then, I had complete freedom. No rules. No oversight. I could move as I pleased."
Her brow furrowed at that. "And now?"
That earned a short, dry chuckle from Dante. "Now? Thanks to Diana and Dinah, I'm on a leash like some pet dog. Don't get me wrong—I get why they did it. But I don't have the freedom I used to. Can't clean up the trash the way I once did."
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Why do you sound like you actually like them treating you like a pet?"
Dante looked up at her… "Uhh… Woof! Woof!"
"...Did you just bark?"
"Hey," Dante said with mock indignation, putting a hand over his chest. "I'm trying to get into character. It's called commitment."
"Commitment," Artemis repeated flatly. "Right. So what's next? You want me to get you a chew toy? Or maybe a shiny little collar that says 'Property of Diana'?"
"Depends. Will it have spikes?"
Artemis groaned "I don't know whether to be horrified or concerned you'd actually wear it."
"Hey, as long as it lets me off the leash once in a while to do what I do best, I'll even wag my tail," he quipped, giving a mock little dog-like shake of his shoulders.