Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was a dull, throbbing pain as they slowly came to. 

Their head pounded fiercely. Their eyes burned, red and teary, as they struggled to differentiate their current reality from the horrid memories swirling and playing out behind their blurred gaze. It felt as though their skin was crawling; wriggling alive with the bugs of fear and agony as it tore through their veins. 

No sound came forth from their lungs, even as they tried to scream. Even as they writhed on the ground, the screams came out in their jerky, harsh movements instead of through their words. They were drowning on air, choking on every breath. 

And then, like a divine intervention, it all… stopped. 

No longer were there screams echoing within the confines of their ears. While there was still a bit of a lingering ache deep in their bones, it was all less prominent. 

They blinked slowly, attempting to clear their vision of their tears, and they looked up to find themself prone before a rather large throne. 

And, sat atop the throne, a rather large being. 

Before they could even try to formulate their thoughts into words, the figure on the throne held up a hand and spoke. “No, young one. I am no God. I am, however, the Monitor.” 

Well, it could have fooled them. The Monitor’s voice–voices, it almost sounded like–echoed deeper within their head than the screams could have reached. 

Clearly, they had grown too distracted, for the Monitor reached down and tilted their chin to look up at their figure perched on the throne. Their cheek was gently patted before the Monitor sat back in the throne with clasped hands. 

“I am in charge of the protection of the Multiverse. However, we have found ourselves amid a crisis that we cannot face alone.” 

They watched as the Monitor projected memories, the sound of sharp, maniacal laughter reverberated around the empty room they both were in while the image of a gruesome red smile flickered to life. They watched in almost awe as the images moved along the room. Though, deep in their gut, a sense of unease settled like a heavy boulder in a stream. Even with their empty memory, they could tell that the entity being shown to them was no good. 

The Monitor gave a hum of approval before speaking up once more. “He is a twisted entity from the Dark Multiverse, determined to spread darkness wherever he touches. To sow terror, and to drag all the multiverses into endless chaos.”

They jumped as the laughter rang out once more, though louder this time. It echoed through the floor, shaking them to their core. The Monitor continued. 

“Justice has fallen in many of the universes he has visited and overtaken. Plenty of our other Monitors have fallen, too. The fate of the multiverse has now reached a critical point. The chaos and darkness are extinguishing all hopes of salvation.” 

An image of the Earth was projected out, and they watched as it slowly warped, everything going dark and practically oozing with discontent and chaos. The Monitor nodded at their look. 

“This is the fate that awaits our and the rest of the worlds if this ‘Darkest Knight’ is allowed to reign free. Our Earth will cease to exist.” 

The Monitor leaned forward, looking them deep in the eyes. “You are our only hope to avert this great disaster.” 

The Monitor then stepped off the throne, reaching a hand out toward them in order to help them to their feet. Their chin was tilted up, and they looked up into the Monitor’s face. 

“You are my champion. By what name shall I call you?” 

They opened their mouth, intending to answer the question, but found that they couldn’t. They raised a hand to their neck and felt bumpy, deep scars that wrapped around their throat. They looked up at the Monitor with big eyes as a sliver of their memory returned to them, looking akin to that of a wet, lonely pup. 

The Monitor gave a soft nod, looking over their throat before producing a book and quill, holding it out to them as the book flipped open. 

“Sign your name instead, my champion. Take my power, my thanks… and the last hopes of this universe.” 

They carefully took the quill, glancing up at the Monitor before looking back at the book held before them. And then, a flash of memory. 

Commander. 

So, with a few clicks of their wrist, they wrote Commander as their new name. The quill in their grasp poofed into thin air as the Monitor pulled the book away and turned it around, scanning over the page. 

“Commander…

Good luck.”

With a blink of an eye, Commander found themself sitting in the pilot seat of a fighter jet. As they slowly reoriented themself, taking over the controls, the final remnants of the Monitor’s voice slowly faded in their head: “Focus on rescuing Green Arrow and Wonder Woman first…” 

The jet’s scanners locked in on two figures, one unconscious, and the other seeming close to. A button flashed on the board in front of them and, instinctively, Commander slapped their hand down on it. They watched as beams shot from the jet, shining down on both people before both disappeared. 

The faint thwump sound in the back of the jet, however, signaled to Commander that they were safe. 

There was a slight cracking sound coming from a radio on the dashboard, and Commander jumped as a voice came through. Batman, Bruce Wayne, a small voice in their head whispered before they paid attention to the things he was saying. 

“Calling Commander,” Batman’s jumbled voice over the radio slowly became clearer. “I received a telepathic communication from the Monitor. I’m sending you coordinates to a backup Batcave location.” 

Commander watched as a set of coordinates appeared on the LED screen before it brought up a map, the controls shifting of their own accord. 

“Once I’ve finished up here, I’ll meet you there.” 

Commander waited till they heard the beep of the radio before they leaned back in the seat, allowing the autopilot that was seemingly installed to take charge. They began to sit back up once they felt the jet start to slow down. They watched through the windshield as the jet landed within the hangar of the spare Batcave. 

As they stood and moved into the back of the jet, they found Green Arrow scooping Wonder Woman up into his arms in order to carry her out. He glanced up at Commander’s footsteps, and his eyes widened momentarily before a weary sigh left him. He shifted his grip on Wonder Woman before nodding toward the jet ramp. 

“Mind opening that for me before we start with questions?” 

Commander nodded, moving and lightly pressing a button on the wall, which triggered the ramp to shudder and slowly fall open. They both moved out of the jet once it had fully lowered, with Commander in the rear, looking a tad passive. Once they were out of the jet, and Green Arrow had found a place to lay Wonder Woman for the time being, he turned on Commander. 

“Who are you? Not that I’m not grateful for your help, but…” 

Commander made a face, their features scrunching up as they showed him their throat. He, too, frowned in distaste. Commander huffed internally, their frustration growing. There had to be some way for them to communicate with the man! 

And then, he grabbed his head, giving them a bewildered look. “What are you doing?” 

What the hell? Commander thought, head tilting like a puppy. 

“What the hell indeed,” he huffed, putting his hands on his hips as he looked then over. “Well, we can talk now. Tell me—Think your name, and whatever else.” 

I’m Commander, they thought, looking Green Arrow in the eyes. Perhaps studying him. Batman gave me the coordinates to this backup Batcave. 

He clicked his tongue, shaking his head before meeting their gaze once more. “Well… If he trusts you, so do I. But we clearly have some work cut out for us if we wanna make this place somewhat habitable.” 

Leave it to me. Commander gave Green Arrow a small, reassuring nod before they walked into the next room over. 

The War Room.

After some time, and perhaps a bit of help from Green Arrow, they managed to boot the systems up. Commander watched in awe as a holographic globe lit up in the middle of the room. Curiously, they reached out and stuck their hand through it, a little choked noise of surprise getting caught in their throat as the hologram shifted around their hand. 

Arrow glanced up at the noise, his face softening ever so slightly, and he moved closer to them before gently setting his hand on their head to give them a fatherly pat. He then cleared his throat, moving his hands to rest on his hips once more. 

“Right, well… the War Room’s been activated, and all the systems have been rebooted. We need to get some power going, and then get Wonder Woman medical attention. She took a bigger dose of the toxin in order to protect me.” 

Commander nodded before the pair moved together. Oliver, as he told Commander to call him, scooped up Diana as they moved to set up the medical bay. Once the technology was set up, and Diana was carefully set up in the special hospital bed, they moved quickly to set up one of the power plant rooms.

Oliver chuckled as Commander watched him, a little warily, as he typed some things on the control panel. “Relax, kiddo. I used to run a tech company. I know what I’m doing.” He finished typing a few more things before hitting enter and stepping away from the panel. 

“That should’ve helped increase the efficiency of the medical pods. Let’s go check on Diana.” 

He glanced back at Commander, making sure they were still following as he started to lead them back to the elevator. Upon reaching the medical bay again, they found Diana already sitting up, rubbing her temples. She glanced up, her gaze meeting Oliver’s before straying toward Commander. 

“Where in Hera’s name…?”

“Easy, Diana,” Oliver muttered, moving toward the Amazonian as he held out his hands. “We’re in a backup Batcave. The person with me is someone the Monitor sent to get us out of the mess we were in. They call themself Commander. They… don’t really talk.” 

Diana then fully looked over Commander before looking them in the eye. She gave them a nod of respect. “Then you have my thanks. Though… how are things on the surface?” She glanced back at Oliver as she asked the question, looking expectant. 

Oliver sighed, tugging down his hood as he ran a hand through his messy blond hair. “Hard to tell. Batman’s out there, but our comms aren’t back up yet, so we can’t reach him.” 

“We must keep upgrading the War Room in order to restore communications. It is crucial we know what is happening,” Diana huffed. 

Of course, Wonder Woman, Commander thought with a nod and a smile as they watched her head shoot up to look at them. We’ll get right on it. 

Chapter Text

With Diana's help, the next set of upgrades seemed to move along much faster. Conversation flowed seamlessly, with Commander offering gentle input now and then amid their thoughts as they all worked. 

Diana quickly grew used to Commander’s way of speaking to them, thankfully. Her curiosity seemed endless as she asked question after question, feeling much better if the smile on her face was anything to go by. Commander attempted to answer as many questions as they could to stem the waves of pure excitement coming from Diana while Oliver made some finishing touches to the War Room. 

With a few tweaks and flips of some switches, the lights flickered for a moment before coming back on. Commander smiled in relief, but then got distracted as little cursors popped up on the holographic globe in the middle of the room. 

One shaped like a plane was drawing closer and closer to their star-marked location. Everyone jumped as a small alarm went off before there was crackling, and a voice came through a speaker on the wall. 

“Calling the Batcave. This is Batman, arrival imminent.” 

They all glanced at each other before moving toward the hangar, watching as the waterfall covering the exit parted for a sleek black jet. Commander inched closer, head tilted in interest as the ramp fell open, revealing a dark-clad figure. 

So that’s what Batman looks like. Bruce Wayne, their brain supplied quietly, the thought coming from the depths of their very being. Commander nodded as Bruce approached, offering him a small bow. 

Bruce looked startled for a moment, though it was hard to tell with the cowl in the way. It then seemed to dawn on him who they were, for a small, bemused huff left him. “You must be who the Monitor sent. There is no need for this; stand.” 

Commander rolled their shoulders back as they stood up straight, moving to the side and bringing up the rear as they all followed after Bruce back into the War Room. He hummed, overlooking the room and the updates they had performed before he moved to the holographic globe.

“This is the Batcomputer. It’s the core of the facility.” 

He clicked around on the globe a bit as well as glancing toward a few of the different computer screens around the room. He grumbled a little. He rotated the globe, rubbing at his chin in thought before zooming in on some of the land and scanning over the cities. “Partial comms restored… Let’s see what we can pick up now. I couldn’t contact anyone beforehand due to that toxic mist. I believe that it might contain an electromagnetic current that was scrambling signals. Hopefully, as we keep upgrading, our comm strength will grow, too.” 

Commander watched Bruce curiously as he worked, inching a bit closer to observe his gloved hands as they clicked around. Maybe they could try…

They were startled out of their thoughts by a tap on their shoulder. When they glanced up, they found an amused Oliver looking at them in return. He chuckled softly as he patted them on the back. “You can be awestruck later, kiddo. For now, we have some more upgrades Diana and I need help with.” 

Commander smiled before happily bumbling after Oliver. They helped clear away some old rubbish, connecting wires they were told to, and eventually stepped back as both Oliver and Bruce booted up the new systems. 

“Hey, I never got to ask,” Oliver started, glancing toward Bruce. “You’ve probably seen a bit now. How are things on the surface?” 

Bruce sighed wearily, tugging off his cowl for the moment as he ran a hand over his face. “The situation’s dire, at the moment. The toxic mist that began to spread at the beginning of all this contains traces of an unknown Dark Energy. As I was passing through, I watched how it worked. It was turning civilians feral and unpredictable.

“On that note, I had a few drones at our disposal, now that our comms are up and running once more.” 

We should go up and use them to look around outside, Commander offered. Bruce nodded, leading the group to an exit before pausing just before the door. He tied a rag around his neck, lifting it so it rested over his nose. After pulling his cowl back over his head, he pulled three other rags out of his utility belt and held them out. 

“In case the mist is just outside.” 

Diana took the ones with the brightest colors, mimicking Bruce’s actions to tie it around her neck and lift it over her nose. Oliver did the same with a green rag, a small huff having left him as he picked it, before taking the soft lilac colored one and doing it for Commander. Bruce checked them over and nodded upon seeing them properly covered. He then pushed open the roof exit door open a bit, grunting with the effort – it had been shut for a long time; it may have rusted a bit at the hinges – and they all stepped outside. 

Even without one of Bruce’s drones, they could all see the destruction of land all around them. At least, they supposed, the building of which resided above the Batcave remained – somehow, someway – intact. Looking out over the horizon, they could see a building in the distance, where the toxic mist seemed thickest. Bruce grumbled, beginning to boot up one of his drones as he glanced toward the building in between tasks. 

“That Crisis Tower seems to be at the epicenter of the toxic mist, probably its source.” 

“Did it just come out of nowhere?” Oliver muttered, a bit sarcastically, but gave Bruce a look as the man responded in his usual blunt manner of speaking.

“Pretty much.” 

Bruce got the drone up and running, carefully sending it out and controlling it with the tablet in his hands that he monitored closely. “Superman went to investigate, and that’s the last I heard–”

He paused as a figure moved across the drone’s field of view. He moved the drone closer, and all of the air rushed out from his lungs as his heart lodged in his throat. 

There was Selina Kyle, Catwoman, running from members of the Jokerz, clearly wounded. Diana glanced at Bruce, placing a gentle and reassuring hand on his arm. He took a deep breath, trying to regulate himself once more.

“She was leading a group of civilians from Gotham to safety.” 

“Well, obviously we’re going and getting them,” Oliver muttered, voice muffled by the rag.

Bruce nodded, flying the drone back to them before standing. His cape billowed softly in the wind, and both Diana and Oliver stood with him, leaving Commander sitting and watching them with bright eyes. 

“We must prepare,” Bruce murmured. He turned to face them, looking determined behind his cowl. He had to remain strong. He had a duty to fulfill.

“Let’s get to it.”