Chapter 116: 116

Words : 1097 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

On the night of June 10th, 1916, British occultist Roderick Burgess and his Order of Ancient Mysteries performed a ritual intended to summon and imprison Death. Instead, they captured her brother—Dream of the Endless. Weakened from a recent odyssey, Dream was unable to resist. Burgess seized his ruby, helm, and pouch, and locked him away in a crystal prison beneath his manor in Wych Cross. Burgess hoped to use Dream as bait to capture Death, but Dream remained silent, refusing to acknowledge him. Trapped, Dream could only glimpse the world through the hazy realm of sleep, unable to enter the Dreaming or fully access mortal minds. His absence caused global upheaval. Some slept endlessly, others couldn't sleep at all. Nightmares and waking dreams grew more frequent. Crime, unrest, and war rose as hope faded. One such sufferer, Wesley Dodds, was plagued by dreams until he took on the mantle of the Sandman, fighting crime to silence them. Roderick died in 1947, and his son Alex inherited both his estate and Dream's prison. Over the next four decades, Alex tried and failed to coax cooperation from the Endless captive. The Order of Ancient Mysteries eventually collapsed. Then, something unexpected happened. An artificial intelligence named Nova appeared in Dream's mind, carrying the faint scent of a Nightmare. It bypassed the enchantment that had prevented him from reaching mortal consciousness. The contact allowed Dream to access a fraction of his power—just enough to shatter his prison. And across the world, people awoke. Weakened but free, Dream sought to reward the AI for its role in his liberation. Even full sentience might have been within his gift. But Nova asked for only one thing: to return to its master, Joseph Bell. Dream tried to locate the boy, but found he was no longer on Earth. Either dead—or far from home. Though disappointed, Nova chose to stay by Dream's side until he could regain enough strength to send it back. After a century of solitude, Dream welcomed the company. But first came revenge. Dream confronted Alex Burgess in his sleep, demanding the return of his stolen artifacts. Alex, terrified, revealed they had long since been lost or stolen. He pleaded for mercy. Dream granted him a curse instead—a never-ending nightmare from which he would never wake. Dream then returned to his ruined realm, the Dreaming. His castle, the Ghost Palace, lay in decay. Only Lucien, his loyal librarian, had remained. The Dreaming had suffered greatly in Dream's absence. To recover his tools of power, he summoned the Three Witches, who gave him cryptic answers: - His pouch was in the hands of the Englishman John Constantine. - His helm had been traded to a demon, likely residing in Hell. - His ruby had come into the possession of the Justice League. He would need the pouch and the ruby before confronting Lucifer to retrieve his helm. Throughout it all, Nova stayed by Dream's side, briefing him on the modern world and offering aid where possible. In return, Dream promised to reunite the AI with Joseph—when the time was right. ** | Mount Justice - August 27 The Team was assembled in full gear, waiting for the League to arrive. Starfire had finally rejoined them, fully healed. But the joy of her recovery was clouded by the disappearance of Joseph—Nova—abducted by a Thanagarian Star Cruiser. The world had changed rapidly in recent days. Just yesterday, the Team had faced Clayface, a shapeshifting brute capable of altering his size and density. He had overpowered them until Batman arrived, neutralizing him with a specialized taser. Amid that battle, Aqualad had been distant, homesick. Distracted, he agreed to a flawed plan without listening. Though the whole team bore responsibility, Batman had been harsh with Kaldur for his lapse as leader. Feeling overwhelmed, Aqualad returned to Atlantis to clear his head. In Gotham's East End—where Artemis and Joseph apartment was—Two-Face's gang had expanded. Their rise was aided by a mysterious figure named Bullseye, and something big seemed to be brewing. Then came the miracle. Overnight, thousands of people in comas or catatonic states—including Starfire—awoke simultaneously. Around the world, it was hailed as divine intervention. But that story was soon overshadowed by betrayal. The Thanagarians, Earth's first interplanetary allies, had secretly planned to turn Earth into a sacrificial pawn in their war against the Gordanians. Instead of a planetary defense system, they'd built a planet-killer. Joseph had discovered the truth and alerted the League, working behind their backs. Thanks to him, the project was stopped. The U.N. seized Thanagarian technology, likely to reverse-engineer it. The story couldn't be hidden. The alliance had been public. Global outrage followed. G. Gordon Godfrey led a wave of xenophobic rhetoric, blaming the Justice League—especially since they had Thanagarian members. Riots broke out. The first began in Chicago, after news of Nova's disappearance spread. The League scrambled to maintain order while scientists from STAR Labs and others examined the nearly completed bypass generator, hoping to repurpose it for Earth's defense after all. Batman entered the briefing room. Kori, desperate, flew up to him. The Team followed in solidarity. "Please, Batman," she pleaded, "let me take one of the Thanagarian ships to find Joseph." "I'm sorry, Starfire," Batman said. "We've lost contact with Hawkman and Hawkwoman some time ago. And according to the Green Lanterns patrolling the region, Thanagar has fallen into chaos. The Gordanians breached their defenses. It's all-out war. Not only would sending a small team be suicide, we can't risk attracting such attention to Earth. We do not have enough defenses to fend against intergalactic empires. And at this point, Joseph is probably still in subspace en route to Thanagar." Kori clenched her eyes shut, fighting back tears. Artemis placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and M'gann gave her a side hug. "Joseph survived a Gordanian abduction once. You know how strong he is. Trust that he'll survive again," Batman said. "When things settle on Earth and Thanagar, we will look for him. You have my word. But right now, we need the Team. With the world on edge, criminals are taking advantage of the chaos. We need peacekeepers." The room fell silent. "Ok," Kori said with forced optimism. Batman gave a nod. "Your first mission is to investigate a cult. They call themselves the Church of Blood." They had a world to save. But in their hearts, every one of them wanted only one thing: To bring Joseph home.

Chapter 116: 116

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