The Boy Who Drowned in Fire
League Stronghold – Lazarus Pit Chamber
Peter screamed again as he was pulled from the pit. His body convulsed. His eyes glowed green. The scream was less human, more animal.
His skin steamed. His heartbeat stuttered. His memories—what little remained—fractured and scattered again.
Talia stood in silence, arms crossed.
She couldn’t cry anymore.
One of the healers looked up from Peter’s broken form. “My lady… he cannot withstand many more of these. The Pit—it’s corrupting him. He doesn’t even speak his name anymore.”
“He doesn’t need a name,” she said coldly. “He only needs obedience.”
But when her eyes flicked down to Peter’s trembling hand — fingers half-raised, like a child trying to reach for someone long gone — even she faltered for a moment.
“…He’s not your weapon,” the healer said quietly. “He’s your son.”
Talia didn’t answer.
She turned and left the chamber.
Behind her, Peter whispered a sound that could have been a name.
A name he no longer understood.
⸻
Hidden Temple – The Al Ghul Mountain Citadel
Damian stood before Ra’s al Ghul, cloaked in shadow and surrounded by silent assassins. His katana was strapped to his back, but his hands were empty.
“I seek the truth,” Damian said, voice sharp as steel. “Tell me what you did to my brother.”
Ra’s rose slowly from his seat, ancient and terrible. His eyes were ageless. Cold.
“You presume I owe you anything,” he said.
“You owe me everything. You made me kill him. You made us duel. And now I know — he’s alive.”
Ra’s studied him carefully. “Alive is a generous word.”
Damian flinched.
“I warned Talia,” Ra’s said calmly. “I told her once: the Lazarus Pit is a door that should only be opened once. She has flung it wide, again and again, dragging that boy’s soul across the veil until it barely clings to his bones.”
Damian’s voice was low. “Is he still… him?”
Ra’s didn’t answer right away.
Then: “No.”
Damian stepped forward, fury burning. “Then why let her do this?”
Ra’s smiled, bitter and ancient. “Because even I cannot stop a mother grieving. And because she is no longer trying to bring back Peter Al Ghul… only trying to erase the one who died.”
The silence was thunderous.
“He’ll never recover, will he?” Damian asked.
Ra’s voice was colder than the grave. “No. The Pit has him now. What remains is hollow.”
Damian’s hands trembled.
“But…” Ra’s leaned in slightly. “If you still wish to find him… look in the shadows. Look for the boy who doesn’t know his own name.”