Shadow Monarch in DC

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The beach got calm again, the campfire crackles, and everyone is trying to act normal but emotions are barely hidden, and everyone notices something unspoken passing between Arthur and his unusual friend. 

Arthur and Didi walked back across the sand in silence. 

 He walked like a man deep in thought, slow steps, his eyes told everything. Didi, on the other hand, moved with the same effortless calm as before, barefoot and graceful, like she was returning from a rather pleasant stroll. 

The others turned toward them as they approached. 

Raven's eyes flicked from Didi's face then to Arthur's. 

To Raven, their conversation wasn't that simple. That much was obvious. 

Kara stood near her, arms folded, expression serious until it wasn't. Her gaze lingered on Arthur a second too long before drifting to Didi, and when it did, her brow furrowed slightly. 

Raven broke the silence first. 

She didn't pry her voice remained neutral, but the question gave away her true intentions anyway. 

"So…" she began slowly, tilting her head. "You two finish your talk?" 

Arthur opened his mouth to answer, but Didi, smiling politely, beat him to it. 

"Yes," she said gently. "We did." 

Raven didn't say anything in response. Her expression barely changed but her eyes did. A subtle tightening. A brief flash of something maybe irritation, maybe unease, maybe something she hadn't figured out herself. 

Then she just looked away. 

Kara didn't speak either, but her silence said plenty. 

Her gaze shifted from Didi to Arthur, then to the horizon, then back again. 

Dick ever the mediator stepped in with his signature timing, walking up a few steps from where he'd been leaning on a driftwood log. 

"Okay..." he said casually, clapping his hands once. "So… Didi, still not sure how you got here, but if you're sticking around, you're welcome to stay at the villa with us. It's pretty big. And kinda empty." 

He smiled, friendly and easy. 

Didi tilted her head in appreciation. "That's very kind of you," she said with that soft, disarming tone of hers. "I'd like that." 

She said it like someone accepting tea at a quiet café, not casually inviting herself into a home full of powered individuals, most of whom were now glaring at her like she'd taken something they couldn't name. 

Arthur exhaled suddenly, as if snapping out of a thought. 

"I think I'll go rest now, I'm tired you see." he said, voice flat, a bit too rehearsed. "That sparring match with Kara wiped me out." 

He turned before anyone could respond and started walking toward the villa, the wind tugging at his sleeves. 

Kara blinked. "Wait, what? You said earlier that was just warm up!" she said, but then almost without thinking started walking after him. 

Raven's eyes narrowed. 

She hesitated for only a breath before she too turned, wordlessly following them. 

And just like that, the three of them disappeared up the sand path, heading back to the house. 

That left the rest of the team standing around the campfire, a flickering orange light dancing across their faces. 

Jaime scratched the back of his neck. "Sooo… that was weird, right?" 

Beast Boy nodded slowly. "Weird," he echoed. "Like 'love triangle' weird." 

Dick just sighed and sat back down. "it's not our business." 

Didi, still standing, looked out over the ocean again, then back at them. 

Her expression was relaxed. Like she wasn't bothered at all. 

Which made it worse, somehow. 

She took a seat by the fire, folding her legs neatly beneath her. The flames cast dancing shadows across her pale features. 

A few seconds passed. 

Then Beast Boy, bless him, did what Beast Boy always did. 

"So," he said, breaking the silence, "are you like… actually a model, or just have model energy? I mean you look like one.. Oh I get it now! You gotta be one of Bruce's models! Of course now it makes sense that's how you're here!" 

Everyone turned to stare. They couldn't believe what they just heard him say. 

Gar held up his hands. "What? Look at her." 

Didi blinked. 

Then smiled warmly and laughed. It was soft, melodic, but a real laugh. 

"I've never modeled," she said. "Do you think I should?." 

Beast Boy stared. 

"…Honestly?… Yes." 

"Sadly, I don't have the time for that, my job takes all the time I have." she added, the corner of her mouth curling. 

The group chuckled. 

 Even Dick cracked a small grin. 

 The awkwardness faded, just a little, as the fire crackled between them. 

But even as they laughed, Didi's gaze briefly lifted toward the Villa where Arthur, Kara, and Raven had vanished. 

**** 

Arthur followed the path toward the villa. walked in silence, his eyes forward but unfocused. 

He wasn't present not entirely. His body moved, but his thoughts drifted. 

'What Didi implied…' 

His brows furrowed. 

'…is that I'm someone she can't see the end of. That I'm outside of her reach. Beyond the dominion of one of the endless...' 

A pause in his steps, then a quick adjustment, as if catching himself mid-thought. 

'And I don't know how to feel about that. It doesn't feel like victory. It feels like… someone familiar.' 

He exhaled quietly, narrowing his eyes. 

'All of this… It feels dangerously close to Lucifer's case.' 

A being unbound. 

"Hey," Raven said gently, her voice soft but cutting through the silence like a bell. 

He blinked and turned slightly. 

"You alright?" she asked, watching him closely. 

Then, before he could answer, she added, "I knew it. She said something serious to you, didn't she? You've got that look." 

"What look?" he muttered, attempting a weak smile. 

Raven arched a brow. "The 'I just got told the universe isn't what I thought it was' look. I know it. I invented it practically." 

Arthur didn't respond right away, but he didn't deny it either. 

Kara, meanwhile, had her arms crossed tightly, glancing back toward the campfire with a skeptical frown. 

"Is she dangerous?" she asked. "Like… powerful enemy dangerous? Should I go and—" 

"No," Arthur cut in, firm but not harsh. He stopped walking, turning to face them both. 

"I know what you're thinking. Both of you," he said. "And the others as well. The suspicious looks. The measuring stares." 

He looked at Raven first. 

"You're smart. Probably already running theories in your head. I've seen that look before as well. You connect dots before they're drawn." 

She didn't deny it. 

Arthur's voice lowered slightly. 

"Don't." 

The word hung in the air not a command or a plea. Just drawing a line. 

"Don't investigate her. Don't dig," he continued. "She's a friend. That's all you need to know." 

Raven's lips parted slightly, as if to protest, but she stopped herself. There was something in his tone and it wasn't fear… it was respect. The kind you rarely gave, and never faked. 

After a few moments, she nodded, faint but real. 

Arthur turned to Kara next, his tone shifting slightly lighter, but still serious. 

"I lied, no I'm not tired. That was just an excuse to head back." 

He gestured ahead with a slight motion of his hand, his gaze narrowing toward the villa now barely visible at the top of the hill. 

"There's someone waiting for me." 

Kara tilted her head, frowning. "Someone?" 

He didn't answer right away. 

Kara sighed and narrowed her eyes, the soft glow of her irises igniting for a brief second. She scanned the villa's perimeter, peering through walls like parchment. 

Then her eyes widened. 

"…Is that Hal again?!" 

Arthur gave a single, tired nod. 

"Yep," he said. "Brought to the villa by one of my shadow soldiers. The other Lanterns, they didn't follow. My Shadows were… discouraging." 

Raven smirked faintly. "That's one way to describe a wall of immortal death knights." 

Kara still looked annoyed. "And what, he just wants to talk?" 

"Apparently," Arthur said, voice flat. "He came alone. He is not even wearing his ring. No backup in the sky. he requested a meeting. Just me and him." 

Kara's hands were on her hips now. "I don't like this. I mean, first her, now him? They really interrupted my... I mean our fun!" 

Arthur cracked a dry smile. "Welcome to my vacation." 

**** 

The doors of the villa creaked open with a heavy groan. 

Arthur stepped inside first, flanked by Kara and Raven in tense silence. But the moment they crossed the threshold, all three slowed. 

The air was different. 

The inside was in black and violet light. Shadows stretched unnaturally across walls and furniture, pulsing gently like they were breathing. A power was alive inside. A very dark energy. 

Arthur knew the sensation well. It was the pressure of a general's presence. His general. 

They turned the corner into the central chamber and there he was. 

Shadow Sinestro. 

He stood like a specter draped in royalty. His figure was tall, sharp, regal even as an undead. a symbol of absolute order under the Shadow Monarch. The emblem on his chest : the mark of the Shadow Corps. 

And before him hovered a construct cage not made of emerald light, but forged from curved spires of midnight and amethyst. Blackened energy webbed across the bars like pulsing veins. 

Within, Hal Jordan stood arms folded, brow raised in irritation. He was in casual clothes, no emerald ring in sight. 

He looked up as they entered. 

"Well," Hal muttered, dryly. "This is one hell of a welcome. And you took your damn time." 

Arthur didn't reply at first. He walked forward slowly, his eyes passing over the violet-black construct, and then settling briefly on Sinestro. 

The general gave a stiff nod, violet eyes gleaming. 

"My king," he said, voice low and composed. "The intruder was intercepted mid-approach, he insisted that he only here to have an audience with you. I took initiative in securing him." 

Arthur stopped just a few paces from the cage, hands loosely at his sides. His expression was neutral, but a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. 

"My soldiers," he said coolly, "can be very overprotective, you see." 

Hal huffed, glancing around the shadow-crafted cell. 

"Yeah, well, maybe teach them some hospitality next time." 

Arthur didn't flinch. "You're lucky Doom and Galatea weren't the ones who found you. This would've been... quieter for me and unpleasant for you." 

Hal muttered, "How comforting." 

/-\ 

If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros. 

& 

If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at

"https://www.patreon.com/FrenzyAren"

You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want