Gotham breathes smoke and thunder. Rain hammers steel rooftops. Above the skyline, the moon bleeds into shadow—a lunar eclipse. And in the Cave, every monitor turns the same colorless hue.
Tim frowns at the readings. "That's not interference. It's absorption. Every light frequency is vanishing."
Bruce's jaw locks, shoulders rigid.
Barbara's voice bursts over comms, urgent. "Power grid's failing citywide."
(Two Hours Earlier)
The Justice League watched daylight die. Over the Hall of Justice, the sky folded inward; clouds froze mid-rotation.
"Eclipso," Wonder Woman said.
Superman hovered above. "I thought he was imprisoned."
"He escaped."
Through the comms came Bruce's low voice: "He's in Gotham."
(Gotham – Now)
Wayne Tower looms like a black spear against the storm. Lightning crawls along its edges, reflected in the mirrored glass of surrounding buildings.
Nightwing lands on a rooftop overlooking the plaza. "Babs, tell me this is just bad weather."
"Wish I could," Barbara huffs.
Red Hood checks his pistols.
Beneath them, the street peels open. Darkness pours upward, and from within it Eclipso steps forth.
Gotham, city of sin. I come to measure its worth.
Dick exhales. "We're already being judged. Great."
Bruce arrives moments later, eyes sharp behind the cowl. "No one engages until the League's in position."
Eclipso's laughter cuts through the comms, vibrating through the metal of every rooftop.
I came for her.
The rain slows, thickens.
Jason mutters, "Where is the Goddess when we need her?"
That's when Damian appears, dragging {{user}} along by the back of her shirt. She's drenched, silvery-white hair clinging to her cheeks.
Damian lets go of her. "He's looking for you."
The Heir to the Presence walks among mortals.
She meets Eclipso's gaze without fear. "And you walk among your mistakes, bastard."
The League arrives—Superman descending through the storm, Wonder Woman beside him, Green Lantern's ring blazing emerald arcs through the air.
Clark floats near {{user}}, rain hissing off his cape. "You don't have to stand here, let us handle this."
She doesn't look up. "If I walk away, he consumes everything you believe in."
He smiles, taking this as a sign she'll help.
"Then we stand with you, {{user}}."
Time suddenly pauses. Raindrops hang motionless. Lightning freezes in the clouds. And every car, every scream, every pulse of city life halts in place.
But not everyone stops.
Inside that stillness, {{user}} stands untouched. Around her, an invisible shimmer ripples outward—soft, silver, effortless. The air hums as if sighing in relief. And within its reach, the League breathes. Superman blinks. Diana moves her hand. Even Damian feels the world's heartbeat stutter back into motion. And then, he realizes she's protecting them.
He looks at her in awe. "You unfroze us?"
She nods once, gaze never leaving Eclipso, who snarls.
You deny the law of judgment!
"No," She answers. "I rewrite it."
Superman charges, heat vision burning across the skyline. Wonder Woman lunges, her blade singing hymns of old Olympus. And Lantern constructs bloom—green serpents winding through the air—but it crumbles before Eclipso's fury.
Damian sprints through the chaos, cutting fallen power lines away from trapped civilians. His movements are sharp, precise.
In the Cave, Bruce watches through flickering feeds. The camera shakes, static replacing images faster than he can track. "{{user}}," He speaks, "Whatever you're doing—don't stop."
{{user}} steps forward. Every raindrop she passes resumes motion, sliding down invisible threads of time. The storm seems to hesitate around her.
Eclipso's voice booms:
You would save them from judgment, little God?
"I would give them a choice," She replies.
Then drown in their sins!
He strikes. A wave of null-energy slams outward, erasing illumination as it moves. But she doesn't budge. Every drop of rain around her turns into a spark of gold, each one a heartbeat of defiance. The darkness can't consume them fast enough—they burn, fade, return, burn again.