The Watchtower's psychic training chamber felt nothing like the gym.No punching bags.No mats.No holographic targets.
Just a circular room of smooth white metal, dimly lit, quiet as a tomb. The silence felt deliberate—like the room itself held its breath.
Elias stood at the center, rubbing the dried blood from his lip.
Great. Perfect. Time for Martian Manhunter to root around in my brain like it's a haunted attic. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
A faint humming filled the room.
Martian Manhunter phased through the floor.
Literally rose through it, weightless and serene.
Elias yelped. "You—you came out of the ground! Why?!"
J'onn's voice was calm. Almost soothing.
"This chamber is psychically shielded. I phased through so that no outside interference disrupted your training."
"Yeah… sure… totally normal… floating ghost man..."
J'onn approached him with his hands folded behind his back.
"You are afraid."
Elias blinked. "I mean… yeah? You're about to scan my brain, and last time I tried to fix something, I coughed up a horror movie."
J'onn nodded once. "Your emotions are tied to your abilities. When you panic, your power surges. When you center yourself, it stabilizes."
Elias rubbed his arms. "I'm not great at centering myself."
"That is what we will practice today."
J'onn floated a few inches off the floor, eyes glowing faintly.A soft, warm telepathic presence brushed Elias's mind.
Not invasive.More like someone knocking politely.
"May I?" J'onn asked.
Elias hesitated. "Will it hurt?"
"No," J'onn said gently. "And if it does, I will stop immediately."
Elias took a shaky breath."Okay. You can try."
The psychic touch deepened.
Suddenly, the air thickened around Elias's thoughts.His vision dimmed at the edges.J'onn's voice echoed inside his head—not spoken, but felt.
‹ Your mind is… unusual. ›
Yeah, get in line.
‹ Your thoughts resist structure. They flow like water through gaps that should not exist. ›
"Is that bad?" Elias murmured out loud.
‹ It is… different. ›
Different.Right.Just different.Not horrifying cosmic anomaly.Probably.
J'onn drifted around him slowly, scanning the psychic residue.
‹ You are attempting to suppress fear. But suppression is not control. ›
Elias bit his lip."Tell that to my power."
J'onn placed a gentle hand on Elias's forehead.
‹ Breathe. Let your thoughts settle. Allow me to observe the power directly. ›
Elias inhaled deeply.
Slow.Careful.
But the power stirred anyway.
A ripple in the air like a heatwave.
Not intentional.
Not controlled.
Just… there.
J'onn paused.
‹ Fascinating. ›
That word again.
Elias hated that word.
"…what does 'fascinating' mean in psychic?"
‹ Your ability does not source from internal biological energy… nor standard meta-gene mutation. ›
"Okay… then from where?"
J'onn didn't answer.
Because the moment he pushed a fraction deeper, Elias's power reacted—
Not violently.But sharply.
A flash of bright distortion cracked through the room.
Elias gasped.J'onn staggered back, eyes widening.
The distortion vanished instantly.
Elias clutched his head. "What—what was that?! Did I do that?!"
J'onn steadied himself. "Yes. It was a defensive reflex. Your mind produced a barrier… without your intent."
Elias blinked. "A barrier?"
J'onn's red eyes narrowed slightly.
‹ It did not simply block my scan. It deflected it. Redirected it. With surgical precision. ›
That didn't sound comforting.
At all.
Elias's voice shook. "Is that bad?"
"…It means there is something in your power you have not yet understood," J'onn said slowly.
Before Elias could panic further, J'onn lifted both hands.
"Let us continue. I will keep my scan shallow."
Elias nodded, shaky.
"Okay. Okay, just… be gentle."
He felt the psychic touch again—lighter this time.Softer.Like fingertips brushing against silk.
J'onn examined the surface level of Elias's thoughts:
Fear.Uncertainty.Determination.A quiet, persistent hope.
The power hummed inside him like electricity under skin.
‹ You have remarkable discipline, despite the fear. ›
"No I don't," Elias muttered.
‹ And yet, you are here. ›
Elias swallowed.
He didn't know what to say to that.
The session lasted another fifteen minutes—gentle exercises, emotional cues, small pulses of power tested in a controlled psychic environment.
Then J'onn drifted back.
"That is enough for today."
Elias nodded, dizzy. "Did… I do okay?"
J'onn actually smiled. Softly.
"You did well. You are far more in control than you believe."
Elias's chest tightened.In a good way.A very good way.
"Thanks," he whispered.
J'onn inclined his head. "I will report your progress. You should go to Medical now."
Elias blinked. "Med…ical?"
Before he could ask why—
His head throbbed.
Hard.
He coughed—
A small droplet of blood hit the floor.
J'onn was beside him instantly. "Your neural activity is unstable. Red Tornado will meet you in the medbay."
"Oh," Elias croaked weakly."Cool. Love that for me."
MEDICAL CHECK
The Watchtower medbay was white, cold, and full of machines that sounded like they whispered diagnostics behind his back.
Elias sat on a scanning table while Red Tornado projected data into the air.
"Neural strain elevated," Red Tornado announced."Cognitive pattern irregularities detected."
Elias sighed. "Can you say it in human instead of robot?"
Red Tornado turned his head.
"You pushed yourself too hard."
"Oh. Yeah. That I understood."
Red Tornado lifted a hand, and a soft stabilizing field washed over Elias's skull.
Sensors beeped.Lights flickered.A console spat out more medical jargon than seemed ethical.
Halfway through, footsteps echoed into the room.
Heavy.Precise.Unmistakable.
Batman entered.
Elias internally screamed.
Red Tornado handed Batman the scan data. "His neural load was aggravated during training."
Batman scanned the hologram quickly.Face unreadable.Voice neutral.
"What did you do?"
Elias stared at the floor. "I… made a rule."
"What rule."
Elias winced."My… learning speed. Five times faster."
Batman continued staring.
He didn't yell.Didn't scold.Didn't sigh.
He just said:
"Don't."
Elias blinked. "Don't… learn?"
"Don't alter your brain," Batman clarified. "Not without supervision. You don't know the consequences. And neither do we."
Elias nodded meekly. "Okay. I won't."
Red Tornado added, "His neural integrity is stable for now. But he must rest."
"How long?" Batman asked.
"Twenty-four hours," Red Tornado replied.
Elias sulked. "I just started training, though…"
Batman stepped closer.
"When your brain stops bleeding," Batman said quietly, "you can resume."
"Oh," Elias muttered. "Right. That's fair."
Batman turned to leave, cape swaying like judgment itself.
Then paused at the doorway.
And said—not warm, not gentle—but something that almost resembled reassurance:
"J'onn says you made progress."
Elias's eyes widened.
Batman continued:
"Don't ruin it trying to go faster."
Then he left.
Red Tornado dimmed the lights."Rest, Elias. I will monitor your vitals."
Elias lay back on the medical cot, staring at the ceiling.
His brain throbbed.But his heart… felt a little lighter.
He whispered:
"…I didn't ruin it."
And for the first time, he believed that maybe —maybe —he wouldn't.