DC: Vessel

"Dan, good work again today!"

Waving goodbye, he walked off with cash in hand, heading for the nearest bar.

'This work is so much easier now.'

Clenching his fist, he felt the strength pulsing through him—still so foreign, still so unreal.

'Can't believe I managed to escape alive from that place.'

Snorting, he shook the thoughts away, along with the memories they dragged with them.

'What happened, happened. I need to focus on now.'

Sighing, he pocketed the cash and rounded a corner, walking for another thirty minutes until the old bar finally came into view.

"I'm sure the kids and Sue won't mind that I'm drinking tonight—"

Crk

He stopped. Concrete cracked behind him. He spun around—

—and looked up.

"W-Who the fuck are you?!"

KZZT

His eyes widened.

But instinct kicked in. His fist shot forward and smashed into the glowing red figure's face, sending it crashing into a nearby building.

'What the fuck was that?!'

His legs locked in place, frozen by the shock, until the sound of shifting rubble broke the shock.

He turned and bolted. Back toward the job site.

'They better still be there.'

Gritting his teeth, he pulled out his phone and dialed his boss.

*"'Hello, this is—"*

"Boss, it's me! I need help, pronto—there's a Metahuman after me!"

He heard a sigh on the other end, followed by a response that eased the edge of panic.

*"Swing by. We'll have him gunned down."*

The call ended. he focused back on running—but curiosity gnawed at him. He glanced back and went pale.

Bathed in moonlight, the figure rose from the rubble, the red glow in its face flickering back to life. Slowly, it turned—not to him, but to the bystanders who had come out of their apartments, no doubt drawn by the noise.

KZZT

Screams erupted—then cut off.

He didn't dare look back again. He ran harder than he ever had in his thirty years of life.

'Who is this psycho?!'

No one from his past should've come after him. It'd be a waste of time—of resources!

Yet something, some itch at the back of his mind gnawed at him. A memory that refused to surface.

He skidded around a corner—

CRACK!

A bullet whizzed past his head.

"Fuckers, it's me!"

There was a nervous chuckle. He shot a glare in that direction before rushing to join the twenty or thirty men gathered with his boss.

"Seems like it scared ya pretty good, eh Dan?"

He opened his mouth to reply—

But then they heard it.

Wet. Heavy. Footsteps.

"...Boss, I don't think guns are gonna do much."

His boss snorted and rolled up his sleeves, revealing tattoos inked in a strange language he didn't recognize.

"Don't worry about that, Dan. Leave it to your good ol' boss. This'll be over in no time."

Someone handed him a gun. He took it.

The heavy steps drew closer.

They stopped—right around the corner he had just come from.

He raised the gun—took aim—

"Fuck me."

His gut dropped as the armored figure stepped around the corner. It wasn't the armor that caught his attention—it was the sheer amount of blood coating it. And worse, the horrible realization of where he'd seen this thing before.

"B-boss, that's—"

He tried to warn his boss and the others, he really did. But before the words could escape fully, the boss uttered something in a language he didn't recognize. A white circle materialized around the attacker, freezing him in place.

It was already far too late to run.

Fuck.

He raised his gun and aimed for the armored head.

BANG—BANG—BANG!

Gunfire exploded, pouring down on the man in a relentless hail of bullets. It only stopped when they ran out of ammo. He was the only one reloading already—everyone else had frozen, staring through the thinning smoke.

The armor was pristine. Not a single scratch.

He watched as his boss, slowly raising his hands, was suddenly lit by the sudden glow of red. Moonlight turned crimson.

KZZT!

A red beam erupted. It pierced through his boss's head, bursting it like a melon and showering everyone nearby with brain matter.

"Bo—!"

He dove behind a bin as the beam sliced sideways, cleaving through others. Covering his mouth with a trembling hand, he shut his eyes tight, trying—and failing—to block out the screams of his friends.

The screams of people being killed by a supposed hero.

. . .

Then, silence.

Only the soft, sparking buzz of damaged lights nearby.

Until he heard it.

Wet heavy steps getting closer.

He held his breath.

'I can't punch my way through a motherfucking laser.'

No matter what those freaks did to his body, he wasn't about to test if it could survive this.

'I've got a wife and kids waiting at home, so please... please just go away.'

He prayed to any god listening. Prayed hard for the footsteps to fade.

And by some miracle... they did.

'I'll be praying to every god I can from now on.'

His shoulders sagged in relief. He let his head rest against the bin and looked up at the night sky—

A red light greeted him.

His heart dropped.

"W—"

——·

Gasp

I shot upright, breathing heavily, confused and scared.

W'hat happened?'

My head throbbed—like I'd either drunk too much or taken a hard hit.

Groaning, I spotted a cup of water on my bedside table. Grabbing it, I chugged it down, only to frown when I noticed a newspaper lying beside it.

'I don't remember that being there.'

My feet felt like they weighed a ton, but as I stood and took a step, I felt a little lighter. Making my way to the table, I picked up the paper and raised a brow.

"New hero, Titan Saves Orphanage in Texas."

'I went to Texas?'

Sighing, I flipped through the rest of the paper, but aside from the front page, there was nothing else about me.

"Maybe Waller knows." I mumbled, placing the paper back down before allowing a small smile.

'At least the kids are safe.'

Even if I couldn't remember helping anyone, the outcome mattered more than the memory. Still, I checked the date—17th.

'I think I last remember it being... the 15th?'

Shrugging, I turned toward the door just as it opened. Waller walked in, surprisingly cheerful.

"Ah, Dean. It's good to see you're up. I was worried you pushed yourself too far." she said, smiling.

Scratching the back of my neck, I sat down and replied, "I don't actually remember anything after finishing training…"

She chuckled and sat beside me, starting the kettle to make coffee.

"That's fine. Just know everyone's safe because of you."

I nodded slowly, then asked. "Since I'm up… can I head back out?"

She smiled and gestured to the door. "You can leave anytime you want, Dean. Just be safe."

I stood up, a mix of emotions bubbling in my chest and made my way to the door. Opening it, I—