The Watchtower medical cot wasn't comfortable.It wasn't uncomfortable either—it was simply… neutral. Like lying on a scientifically optimized plank of "You Will Rest Whether You Like It Or Not™."
Elias stared at the ceiling, the lights dimmed to a soft blue glow.His head felt stuffed with warm cotton and static after the psychic training.His throat still tasted faintly of iron.
Red Tornado sat in the corner, silent as a statue.
Occasionally, a soft chime or scan pulse flickered across the medbay as Tornado checked his vitals.
Elias closed his eyes.
His mind started drifting—
Then jolted awake again.
Sleep was like waiting for a shoe to drop. A cosmic shoe. Possibly flaming.
After several minutes, he whispered:
"…I almost died in a karate practice."
Red Tornado spoke without looking up."You were never in mortal danger."
"I coughed blood."
"You sustained manageable neurological stress."
"That sounds like robot for 'stop complaining.'"
A pause.
"Correct."
Elias groaned.
Hours passed.He drifted in and out of shallow sleep.
Sometimes he dreamed… if "dream" was the right word:
Whispers of rules he hadn't spoken.
Shapes bending behind closed eyes.
A hand touching reality and leaving ripples like water.
A voice—his own voice—saying:
Rewrite.
He bolted awake.
Red Tornado was instantly by his side."You experienced a distress spike."
Elias held his forehead. "My dreams are broken. Or I'm broken. Or both."
"Your neural pathways are recalibrating."
"Can we recalibrate my nightmares too?"
"Negative. That is outside my capacity."
"Great."
He lay back again.
Trying to breathe.
Trying not to feel the power shifting under his skin.
At one point, his fear spiked, and the instinct rose:
Say a rule.Fix it.Make the nightmares stop.Make the thoughts quiet.
But he grabbed his own wrist and forced it down.
"No," he whispered."Not again."
He wasn't going to bleed on a training mat for a second day.
He slept again.Restless, but alive.
THE LEAGUE MEETING
The Watchtower conference chamber lit up as the League gathered.A holographic image of Elias's brain scan floated between them—neural spikes lighting like fireworks.
J'onn stood at the front, hands clasped.
Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Red Tornado formed a semicircle.
J'onn spoke first.
"Elias's psychic signature is… unusual."
Flash muttered, "Understatement of the century."
J'onn continued. "When I attempted to examine his power's structure, it produced a barrier. Not one of emotion or resistance—one of precision. Purpose. It did not simply deny my entry. It redirected it."
Wonder Woman's eyes narrowed. "Redirected? How so?"
"Like a mirror, angled mathematically," J'onn said. "It was intentional. Yet Elias did not consciously create it."
Superman leaned forward. "So his power protects him autonomously?"
"Yes. And no."J'onn's tone grew heavier."It reacts to his fear. His panic. His confusion. His instinct. Not his reasoning."
Batman's jaw tightened. "Meaning he's not in control."
"Not fully," J'onn corrected. "But he is improving."
Flash tapped his foot at super-speed. "Okay, but we're talking about a kid whose brain can just go 'NOPE' to a telepath like you. That's… concerning."
Wonder Woman nodded. "And ethically complex."
Superman crossed his arms. "He's not dangerous. He's overwhelmed."
Batman finally spoke.His voice was quiet—but carried the weight of a verdict:
"He's both."
The room fell silent.
Batman went on:
"Elias is a child. Frightened. Alone. And capable of rewriting aspects of reality under stress. Those truths coexist."
Flash opened his mouth to argue, then closed it.
Even Superman didn't have a rebuttal.
Red Tornado displayed another scan. "His self-modification rule has caused lasting neural sensitivity. He must refrain from further self-adjustments."
J'onn nodded. "I propose we increase supervision during all training. Someone must always monitor his psychological state."
Wonder Woman added, "And someone must guide his moral grounding."
Flash sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Poor kid. He just wants to belong."
Superman looked around. "He can. And he will. But slowly."
Batman stepped forward.His cape cast a long shadow across the hologram.
"I'll oversee him."
No debate followed.
No one argued.
Because there was nothing to argue.
Superman nodded.Flash exhaled in relief.Wonder Woman bowed her head.Red Tornado stored the update.J'onn closed the file.
The decision was made:
Elias would not train alone.Not ever.Not again.
NEXT MORNING: SPEED LESSONS
The next day, Elias woke in a different medbay room—brighter lights, softer pillows, less ominous beeping.
His head still throbbed faintly, but the dizziness was gone.He felt steadier.
He took a long breath.
Okay today is reflex training with Flash.
Actual speedster.
Personification of velocity and ADHD.
Totally fine,you're not going to get vaporized.Probably.
Red Tornado met him at the door.
"You are stable. You are cleared for light training."
"Light training," Elias repeated."And Flash is teaching it."
"Yes."
"So… not light at all."
"Yes."
Elias sighed. "Let's go die."
Red Tornado tilted his head. "Hyperbole detected."
"Not hyperbole."
They walked down a long corridor toward the speed lab.
The doors opened—
WHOOSH—
A gust of wind slammed into Elias as Flash zipped past, leaving a streak of gold lightning.
He appeared in front of Elias a second later, skidding to a stop.
"HEY!" Flash grinned. "Welcome to Day Two, kid!"
Elias blinked."Do you… always enter rooms like a tornado?"
"Only the fun ones!"
Elias side-eyed Red Tornado."He's scarier than you."
"Incorrect," Red Tornado replied.
Flash clapped his hands. "Alright! Reflex time! We're gonna do simple stuff today, don't worry."
"Define simple."
Flash pointed at the far wall. "See that ball shooter?"
Elias looked.It was the size of a cannon.It whirred ominously.
"Flash. Flash, no."
Flash winked. "Flash, yes."
The machine powered up with a hum.
"Okay!" Flash said cheerfully. "Just dodge."
"JUST DODGE WHAT—?"
FWIP-FWIP-FWIP—!!
Balls shot out at blistering speed.
Elias screamed and dove to the side—But something strange happened.
His body moved before he decided to move.
His mind anticipated trajectories.Angles.Velocities.
He slid under one ball.Twisted around another.Dodged two by pure instinct.
Flash's eyes widened."Whoa! You're a natural!"
Elias stumbled behind a console, panting.
"NO I'M NOT—THIS IS TERROR!"
Flash zipped beside him."Hey, fear is a great motivator! Just… you know… don't panic-panic."
"I have one type of panic!"
Flash laughed and patted his shoulder at superspeed.
Then—
Elias's vision blurred for a split second.
A flash of pain shot behind his eyes.
His nose tickled—then dripped red.
Flash froze.
"Kid… you're bleeding."
Elias wiped it with his sleeve. "It's fine. Happens sometimes. Brain stuff."
Flash's smile faded.
He slowed down.Literally slowed down — to normal human speed.
"Elias… that isn't normal," Flash said softly.
Elias swallowed."I'm trying. Really. I'm trying so hard to keep up."
Flash's eyes softened in a way Elias hadn't seen before.
"Hey. Look at me."
Elias did.
"You don't have to keep up," Flash said."That's our job.Yours is to survive the day and learn one thing at a time."
Elias's throat tightened.
"…I don't want to disappoint anyone."
Flash put a hand on his shoulder.
"Kid, listen—every one of us started somewhere.Every hero was scared before they were strong.You're not behind.You're just starting."
Elias blinked back a sting in his eyes.Not pain this time.
Something else.
Then Flash grinned again, brighter this time.
"Now come on. Today, we dodge slow balls."
"Slow?"
"Slow for me," Flash said, grabbing the machine's settings."For you, still terrifying."
"Great."
Elias stepped back into the training floor.
Ready?No.But trying.
And trying was the whole point.