Chapter 71 – "The Choice"
They were still in the Dominators' mothership.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Their eyes were fixed on Dante.
Like gravity pulled them to him, even in stillness.
The silence was sharp. Thick with the weight of what they had just seen—of what lived in his mind.
Dante stood alone.
His back to them, black and red suit still humming with that eerie, flickering light.
He hadn't said a word since they awoke.
But he didn't need to.
They saw.
They saw the Red Doom.
They saw what he could become.
And that fear—it lingered. Like smoke after a fire.
Then the room changed.
The floor trembled beneath their feet, and from the shadows, the Dominators appeared.
Three of them.
Tall. Pale. Unblinking.
Their long limbs moved like flowing water. Elegant. Terrifying.
The one in the center stepped forward.
And spoke.
Softly. Calmly.
> "What you saw… was what we saw."
His voice echoed inside their minds, not through the air.
> "A future where the Red Doom rises. And the Earth dies."
Every hero turned sharply.
Sara narrowed her eyes. "So this was never about the metahumans."
The Dominator nodded. "Yes. You are dangerous. Unpredictable. But not him."
He pointed.
Right at Dante.
> "He is extinction."
No one spoke.
No one could.
It was truth.
Brutal, undeniable truth.
They had all seen it. In his dream. In his future. In what he could be.
Kara's voice broke the silence first.
"Then why show us?"
The Dominator replied, "Because the decision is yours."
> "Fight us… and protect the Red Doom… and we will kill you all."
> "Or hand him over… and we leave. In peace. Forever."
The silence returned.
But now, it was poisoned.
They turned.
All of them.
To Dante.
He didn't move.
Didn't speak.
His face was unreadable. Cold. A statue under judgment.
The heroes stood frozen.
Hesitating.
Kara looked at Sara.
Sara looked at Kate.
Ronnie and Martin looked at each other, and then at Dante.
Even Supergirl—who always fought for hope—hesitated.
Because what they saw in Dante wasn't just a possibility.
It felt like a promise.
That future wasn't fiction.
It felt real.
But not everyone froze.
Not Barry.
Not Oliver.
They stepped forward—almost in sync—like brothers born from different tragedies.
Oliver's voice was firm. "He's not a monster."
Barry added, "He's our friend. Our brother."
The Dominator turned its gaze to them. "And you would risk Earth's future… for him?"
"Yes," Barry said, without a second of doubt.
Oliver: "Every damn time."
But the others?
The others weren't so sure.
Sara spoke slowly. "Oliver… Barry… you saw it. We all did. He—he killed us."
"He didn't kill us," Barry snapped. "That was a dream. Not a prophecy."
Martin, the more composed half of Firestorm, shook his head. "It wasn't a dream. It was inside his mind. A piece of him. You saw how vivid it was. That kind of horror doesn't just come from imagination."
Ronnie: "It felt like truth."
Kara's voice cracked. "I don't want to believe it. But that look on his face… the way he laughed…"
Kate stepped forward, fists clenched. "You're telling me we just ignore that? That we let that happen because we hope he never becomes it?"
"Isn't that what being a hero is?" Barry said, his voice rising. "Believing people can be better?"
Oliver nodded. "You don't punish someone for something they might become. If we did that, none of us would be standing here."
They turned to Dante again.
He finally spoke.
Low. Detached. "It's okay."
Everyone froze.
"I get it," he said. "I saw what you saw."
He stepped forward, slowly.
His boots echoed on the metal floor of the ship.
"When I first got these powers, I felt like the world handed me a curse with no warning. I didn't sleep. I didn't eat. I kept fighting every day just so I wouldn't lose myself."
He looked up.
At Kara.
At Sara.
At Kate.
"I didn't ask for this."
His voice hardened.
"But I'm not ashamed of what I've done. I've killed monsters to keep you all safe. And yeah—maybe one day I'll snap. Maybe one day I'll lose control."
He looked down at his hands.
Blood still stained his gloves.
"But if you're going to make that call now—right now—to hand me over to aliens because of a dream?"
He took a breath.
"Then do it."
He walked past them.
Stopped in front of the Dominators.
"I won't run."
Barry grabbed his arm. "No. Don't."
Oliver stood beside him. "Don't make this easy for them."
Dante looked at them both.
And for the first time, there was no wall behind his eyes. No cold rage. Just… quiet acceptance.
"I'd rather die on my feet than see you all die for me."
Kara stepped forward.
Her voice soft.
"Then let us stand for you."
She turned to the Dominators.
"I'm not handing him over."
Sara sighed. "Neither am I."
Martin groaned. "This is insanity…"
Ronnie nodded. "But we're heroes, right? Insanity comes with the job."
Kate looked at Dante, still uncertain. Still shaken.
But she spoke anyway.
"Let's get one thing straight. You go crazy—I'll be the first to put you down."
Dante smirked. "Fair."
The Dominators looked around.
All seven stood together.
No fear in their eyes.
Just resolve.
The Dominator leader's head tilted.
"So be it."
The floor lit beneath them.
The walls shimmered.
The air turned electric.
And then—
A pulse of energy slammed outward from the Dominators.
A declaration of war.
Barry caught Kara as she stumbled.
Oliver drew an arrow.
Dante raised his hand—and his red lightning flared alive.
The time for fear was over.
Now came the fight.
---
You can contact me through my official page on the following Accounts:
telegram:
miraclenarrator
tiktok:
miracle_narrator
instagram:
miracle_narrator