I need coffee
I: I NEED A COFFEE
NONE OF THIS IS CANON!!
THE SCATTERED FINGERS against keyboards, chair-wheels flying through the hard floors, distant music blasting from above reached the dark Batcave as Bruce Wayne, the cowl of Gotham's Dark Knight, stared intently at the hundreds of screens in front of him.
In all of his years of patrolling the city, rarely had he felt this unsettled. Yet tonight, something gnawed at him—a warning deep in his bones.
A sudden ping cut through the silence. Red lights flashed across his monitors, and lines of code streamed past as security systems attempted to trace the breach. Within seconds, the image of an empty laboratory flashed onto the central screen. Bruce's eyes narrowed, his mind processing faster than most people could speak.
"The prototype," he murmured.
The high-tech weapon—a cutting-edge, compact device designed to protect as much as it could destroy—had been a tightly guarded project, accessible to only a select few. And now, it was gone.
"Fuck."
Alfred's voice came over the comms, calm but tinged with urgency. "Sir, we have an unauthorized extraction from the R&D lab. I've already activated lockdown protocols, but the thief has gotten away."
Bruce clenched his jaw. "Alert the family. We're mobilizing."
Within minutes, the Bat Family assembled in the heart of the cave, each masked and prepared.
All the Robin's, Nightwing, and both batgirl's shared confused glances, but their sole attention was focused on Batman. Even with Jason rolling his eyes as he lifted his helmet and slipped it on.
"This isn't just a break-in," Bruce informed them. "Whoever took the weapon knew exactly where to go and how to avoid our systems. They wanted us to notice."
Red Robin leaned in. "So it's a message. But from who?"
Before Bruce could respond, a surge of static overtook the Batcave's monitors, and an unfamiliar voice crackled through. Low, mocking, each word laced with challenge.
"Gotham's finest, gathered to protect their precious toy... only to watch it slip through their fingers. Consider this a test, Dark Knight. If you can find me."
In a flash, the signal disappeared, leaving silence in its wake. The Bat Family exchanged glances, each registering the same thought: this was no ordinary thief.
Without hesitation, Bruce tapped into his Justice League communicator. "This isn't just a Gotham problem. We're going to need backup."
It wasn't long before the Justice League arrived, their presence illuminating the Batcave with energy that felt like hope and power combined. Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Kid Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow and Super-boy.
They were the only ones who weren't on a current mission, unfortunately.
"What exactly did they take?" Superman asked.
Bruce met his gaze, his voice flat. "A prototype I was developing—a weapon that could, in the wrong hands, destabilize entire infrastructures. At its core, it's designed to disrupt energy, tech, even other dimensions."
"Oh, how fun." Green Arrow chimes in sarcasm lacing his words.
Superboy glanced at Bruce, an unspoken question in his eyes. "And you think they'd use it?"
"Not yet," Bruce replied. "But if this is a warning, then we're up against someone who knows us—our moves, our tech, our weaknesses. We need to be ready for anything."
As they gathered their gear and prepared to track the thief, a bright light suddenly erupted from above, bathing them in a searing white glow. The team staggered back, shielding their eyes, but the light only intensified, swallowing every shadow, every corner of the cave.
Bruce shouted orders, his voice nearly drowned out by the overwhelming energy building around them. But before anyone could react, the light twisted, pulling them from solid ground. Gravity vanished, and they felt themselves hurtling, spinning through an endless void.
When they finally landed, the world felt colder, sharper. Gone were the familiar walls of the Batcave, replaced by towering buildings and the unmistakable hum of a bustling city. They found themselves in a place unlike Gotham, but unmistakably New York.
The Bat Family and Justice League members rose, disoriented, eyes scanning the strange skyline.
"This isn't home," Wonder Woman murmured, scanning the horizon.
Nightwing steadied himself, taking in the unfamiliar scene. "So... where are we?"
Everyone was silent, their eyes snapping around their surroundings. They were on a tall building, it was dark out, a clock tower chimed in the distance, indicating it had just fallen to midnight.
Bruce sighed, rubbing his face with his hand, but before he could do anything else, Flash spoke up;
"Seems like we are in New York, Queens I would bet, seeming as people are still out on the streets this late. And there's spray paint on that building saying: 'NYC Queens sucks ass'" He jutted a finger behind him at a nearby restaurant.
He was leaning forward over a railing, watching the city. Cars beeping and honking, distant sounds of rats scurrying, screaming from apartments, overall just loud city noise.
Dick and Wally snickered as a middle-aged man was being chased by a flock of pigeons.
"I need coffee." Tim said, sitting down on the dirty roof, Bruce glared at the boy, and Tim shot Bruce back a Grin. Damian grimaced at Tim.
"No time for coffee," Superman told him, and looked back at the others, "we need to find out how to get home."
Bruce turned his glare to Superman, "we are in a whole different universe, Kent." He stated, and had started pacing the roof.
Clark scowled back at Bruce, and Wonder Woman rolled her eyes at them, standing in front of Superman. "Okay, is there any way to rebuild the weapon that sent us here?" She asked the billionaire genius.
"Yes," He started, everyone looked up with enthusiasm, "but it would take around a year." He finished, everyone's eyes went wide and grins melted into deep frowns, Damian looked upset.
Which was uncharacteristic, but the Author told you everyone was out of character anyways.
Jason put a comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder, which Damian glared at but didn't brush off.
"Lookie here! We got some new visitors!"
NONE OF THIS IS CANON!!
-DuckyShipss
(Words: 1052)