Chapter 67 – "The Gathering"
Dante stood alone in the Cortex, back against the wall, a cigarette between his lips. The smoke curled lazily through the air, untouched by the tension swirling around the room. His eyes were cold, unreadable.
Then, it happened.
The ground trembled—not violently, but enough to make Cisco freeze mid-sentence and for Caitlin to look toward the ceiling.
"Uh…" Cisco blinked. "Did anyone order an earthquake?"
Wells checked the monitor. "No seismic activity. At least, not from Earth."
A shimmer tore through the space above the Cortex floor. Sparks of golden light traced the shape of a swirling portal. Barry stepped forward instinctively, but he didn't look afraid. He knew exactly what this was.
They all did.
She flew through it like a comet, golden hair trailing behind her, her cape fluttering with the grace of a flag in a storm. She hovered mid-air, landing softly on her feet. Confident. Unshaken.
Supergirl.
"Sorry I'm late," she said with a smile, her voice calm, steady. "Traffic between universes is a nightmare."
Before anyone could speak, another portal cracked open across the room. This one was darker—like a shadow slicing the fabric of space itself.
From it stepped a figure draped in black and red armor, her cowl sharp, her stance fierce.
Batwoman.
"Where's the threat?" she asked, arms folded.
And then they came through the main doors—no portals, no theatrics. Just boots on the ground.
Oliver Queen. Diggle. Felicity. Roy. Dinah.
The Arrow Team.
Behind them, the door hissed open again—and chaos followed.
The Legends.
Sara Lance led them with her usual swagger, flanked by Ray Palmer, Nate, Zari, and the rest of the odd, misfit crew. Mick was already biting into a candy bar and rolling his eyes.
In minutes, the Cortex was filled with faces—heroes, fighters, soldiers. All of them answering Barry's call.
It was loud. Jokes. Greetings. Reunions.
Barry smiled and gestured for everyone to follow him to another location—an abandoned building they had cleared out weeks ago, just in case.
Now it had a purpose.
---
The Training Grounds – An Empty Industrial Hall
The building echoed with footsteps, the ghosts of the past replaced by the force of the present.
Barry stood at the center, hands raised. Around him, the heroes formed a loose circle. Supergirl, arms crossed beside Batwoman. Oliver with Diggle, scanning everyone with a soldier's eye. Sara spinning a staff with idle boredom.
The Legends, the Arrow Team, and the Multiverse heroes—all together.
Barry spoke with clarity. "We're up against something different. The Dominators don't want peace. They don't want control. They want extinction—especially for metahumans."
He paused, letting the words hit.
"We barely survived the first wave. And we were lucky."
Caitlin stood beside him, nodding. "They're stronger than expected. Coordinated. Their tech is alien, beyond anything we've studied."
Cisco added, "I've seen their frequency—they're built for hunting people like us. Metas. Powered beings. They've adapted since the last time any version of them showed up."
Martin and Ronnie, standing as Firestorm, looked at one another.
"Then we adapt faster," said Martin. "Together."
Barry nodded. "That's why we need to train. Coordinate. Know each other's strengths."
He looked at Supergirl. "She's the strongest of us. She's Kryptonian. I want us to test ourselves against her. If we can last against her, maybe we can last against them."
There were murmurs. Uncertainty. Kara didn't blink.
"Bring it on."
---
The Training Begins
The space transformed.
Ray shrunk down to scout her movement. Dinah tried a Canary Cry—Kara absorbed it like a breeze. Sara went full speed with a flurry of strikes, but Kara deflected every hit effortlessly, smiling gently. Nate turned to steel and tried to hold her—only to be tossed twenty feet like a pebble.
The air shimmered with power.
Waves of force.
Shockwaves from Kara's controlled punches.
Barry stepped in for a round, moving fast—but even his top speed was only a flicker to her. She caught him mid-run and spun him into the air before gently dropping him like a pillow.
"She's not even trying," he groaned from the ground.
"That's the point," Cisco muttered. "They won't go easy."
Off to the side, Dante leaned against the far wall, watching silently. He lit another cigarette, his face calm. A few of the heroes glanced at him, but none approached.
They didn't fear him. Not exactly.
They just… didn't know what to make of him.
He didn't move like a hero.
Didn't act like one.
Didn't look like one either, not in the black and red suit that pulsed with the Void Force.
His presence was like a shadow standing in daylight.
"Why aren't you training?" asked Oliver, stepping beside him.
Dante took a drag before replying, "I don't need to spar with a Kryptonian to know I'm not strong enough to win."
Oliver raised an eyebrow. "You afraid?"
"No," Dante said. "I'm realistic. She's fast. I'm faster. But that's not what this is about."
Oliver folded his arms. "Then what is it about?"
Dante turned, eyes cold. "Control. She's got it. Most of them don't."
Oliver said nothing.
"And control," Dante added, "is what gets you through war."
---
Elsewhere in the Room
Sara flipped into a back handspring, only for Kara to blink past her and tap her shoulder mid-spin.
"Dammit," Sara grunted.
"That's twenty-three taps," Zari said from the sidelines. "You're officially a spinning top."
Mick laughed. "I'll take her. Just give me a flamethrower and a drink."
"You'd be ash in two seconds," Ray muttered.
Felicity was typing on a portable rig, syncing everyone's bios and data through a shared system. "Okay, meta profiles uploaded. Maybe if we simulate Kryptonian weaknesses…"
"Don't say Kryptonite," Kara said with a smirk. "It's rude."
Felicity looked up. "Oh no, I was just thinking hypothetically—"
"Sure," Kara grinned.
The tension melted for a second. People laughed. But the truth hung in the air: they weren't ready. Not yet.
From the side
"You don't like working in groups," Oliver said.
Dante smirked. "I don't like pretending we're friends just because we're on the same side."
Oliver nodded. "You remind me of someone."
"Let me guess. Yourself?"
Oliver gave a half-smile. "Maybe. Took me years to realize the mission doesn't work alone."
Dante glanced at the sparring match, where Kara was now facing Firestorm, tanking blasts of nuclear energy without flinching.
"I'm not alone," Dante said quietly. "I've got Barry."
Oliver looked at him, measured. "And do you trust him?"
"Yeah."
"Then maybe, one day, they'll trust you."
Dante didn't answer.
He just dropped the cigarette, crushed it under his heel, and walked back into the building.
---
Later That Night
Training slowed. Bodies rested. Kara hovered silently, arms crossed, still untouched.
Barry walked up to her. "Thanks for doing this."
Kara smiled. "You're welcome. They're strong, Barry. You've got good people."
Barry nodded. "We'll need all of them."
He looked across the room—at Oliver, talking to Felicity. At Caitlin tending to Mick's bruised ego. At Cisco building a drone to simulate Dominator attack patterns. And at Dante, alone in the shadows.
He knew they weren't ready.
Not yet.
But they would be.
Because this time, they weren't going to lose.
---
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