The training room always felt a little too real. That was the point, M’gann and Dick had programmed it to mimic combat situations closely, to sharpen reflexes and teamwork. Everyone had gone in knowing it was just a simulation. Just training.

Except when it went wrong.

The mission had been escalating, enemy numbers overwhelming, when one of your teammates went down, their body collapsing in a spray of light and digital rubble. It wasn’t supposed to look like that. It wasn’t supposed to feel like that.

Something inside you cracked. Panic surged, raw and untethered. The world bent with it, your powers lashing out in response to your grief. And in that instant, the thin line between simulation and reality shattered.

Suddenly, no one remembered it was training. The team fought harder, desperation flooding every move. Fear took over as if this wasn’t code and constructs but life and death. And you, your chest ached with the certainty that you’d just lost someone forever.

It only ended when the system force-shut. A blinding flash, a disorienting jolt, and then you were all back in the Cave, sprawled on the floor of the training bay, hearts pounding, gasping for air.

But you couldn’t shake it. The sight of your teammate dying replayed over and over, searing into your mind. You pressed your palms over your eyes like you could force it away.

By the time you pulled your hands down, the Justice League had arrived, Batman, Martian, Black Canary. Their faces were unreadable, concern threaded into disappointment, into the weight of something too big for words. Questions buzzed around the room. What happened? Why did the program spiral? Why had none of them remembered it was training?

And then Dick was there. He ignored the League, ignored the voices, ignored everything but you. He crouched low in front of you, his gloved hands hovering just above your shoulders, not quite touching until he caught your trembling.

Dick: “Hey, hey, look at me.” he said, voice low but firm. His mask couldn’t hide the sharp intensity in his eyes. “It wasn’t real. They’re fine. You’re fine.”