Shadow Monarch in DC-Chapter 174: Didi

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Arthur and Kara approached the solitary figure standing beneath a twisted palm tree, her back turned to them.

She was dressed in black swimwear, not extravagant just... simple, and a sun hat that barely moved in the breeze casting delicate shadows across her pale features. She looked almost like she belonged in a dream, or something just slightly outside of reality.

Kara stepped forward cautiously. "Who are you? And how did you get to this island?"

Arthur raised a hand, firm. "Wait Kara!"

Kara paused mid-step, glancing back at him with furrowed brows, but Arthur’s gaze was locked ahead.

The woman turned, smiling faintly. Her voice, when it came, was like a whisper, soft, clear, gentle beyond reason.

"Oh. Arthur forgot to introduce me."

The moment her words touched the air, something in Kara’s posture shifted.

Her muscles relaxed before she realized it, her breath slowed. Her irritation faded into something far more ambiguous, reverence, curiosity, even peace.

’What is this feeling?’ she thought, unbidden, like a child being gently hushed.

She turned to Arthur, confused but somehow respectful. "So... you do know her?"

Arthur said nothing for a moment. His blue eyes were sharp, narrow studying the woman with a guarded wariness.

She smiled back at him with warmth that only unsettled him more.

She wasn’t radiating malice, not even the faintest trace of ill will. But he couldn’t feel anything from her.

Nothing.

Which meant only one thing.

Finally, Arthur spoke. His voice was low, measured. "Yeah. Kara, this is Didi. Didi, Kara."

Didi’s eyes met Kara’s with a warmth that could calm oceans. She gave the smallest, most graceful nod.

"Nice to meet you, Kara," she said, and though it was simple, it carried a kind of timeless sincerity, like she meant it more than most people ever could. "You’re... brighter than I expected."

Kara caught off-guard not just by the words, but by the way they landed, she barely could respond to her. "Thank..You.. Pleasure is all mine."

Kara then blinked towards Arthur. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Arthur."

Before he could say anything, the woman tilted her head, still smiling.

"Oh, I got here on my own," she said gently. "Arthur had nothing to do with it."

Kara’s eyes narrowed slightly. Her thoughts darted: ’How? This island is privately owned by Bruce. There’s no way she just—’

"I know Bruce," Didi said casually, without turning her head.

Kara froze. Her lips parted to respond, but no sound came out.

Arthur exhaled through his nose, eyes still on Didi. He wasn’t sure if her timing was fate, coincidence, or she was here for some reason though with her, it was likely all of the above.

"Let’s regroup with the others," he finally said.

Didi clasped her hands behind her back, face brightening in that strangely disarming way. "I can’t wait to meet your friends, Arthur."

But her next words didn’t reach the air. They reached only him.

’You have uninvited guests.’

Arthur’s eyes didn’t move, but his mind tensed, voice answering inside himself.

’Yes. You.’

A light, clear laugh echoing in his skull.

She lifted her arm slowly, pointing one delicate finger toward the sky.

Arthur turned, gaze following. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

And then he felt it.

The atmosphere was changing. The pulse of emerald light growing faint and distant. His shadow senses tuned and muted by habit flickered like flares in the distance.

Then he saw through Shadow Sinestro’s eyes.

Hal.

And others.

His jaw tightened. ’They are here because of what happened in Qward.’

"It shouldn’t matter." he said. "They’ll handle it."

Kara followed Arthur’s gaze and frowned as she saw from this distance. "Is that... Hal? And your.. soldiers ?!"

Arthur responded "Ignore it."

Behind them, Didi simply smiled again, her feet barely leaving prints in the sand as she followed.

****

Above the crystal-clear waters surrounding the private island.

Hal Jordan hovered in the skies, his jaw locked, eyes narrowing at the violet-and-shadow ringed figures encircling them. The presence of Sinestro his twisted silhouette now a shadow gnawed at something deep inside him.

Kilowog floated beside him, ring at the ready. "This is a joke, right? That ain’t really Sinestro."

Hal didn’t answer immediately. His eyes flicked to the corrupted violet ring glowing on the shadowed hand. The smirk. The posture. It may have been a shadow, but it was Sinestro down to the contempt in his stare.

Tomar-Tu’s voice broke the silence. "We’re outnumbered... and I can feel my ring flickering. The energy that powers these creatures... it’s the same one from Qward... could it be..."

"I can still fight," Kilowog snapped. "Ring losing charge or not, we don’t let ourselves get shoved out of Earth’s sky by ghosts."

Hal closed his eyes for a brief moment, then exhaled. He could feel it too his will was intact, but his ring was... sluggish. Diminished. Drained. Like the island’s very air ate away at the spectrum’s strength.

"No," Hal said finally. "We’re leaving."

"What?!" Kilowog turned sharply, his face contorted with disbelief. "You’re seriously backing down? Here? Now?"

Hal turned toward him, his voice low but sharp, cutting through the heat of Kilowog’s frustration. "You have no idea you’re dealing with, Kilowog. Bur I do. And trust me. This isn’t about pride, and it’s not about being scared."

Tomar-Tu tilted his head. "Then what is it?"

Hal’s gaze shifted toward the looming, still figures watching them from above Sinestro’s phantoms, bound in darkness, cloaked in corrupted rings.

"Our rings are losing power just being here," Hal said, quieter now, grim. "And that’s not even the worst part about Arthur’s creatures."

Kilowog clenched his fists, the glow of his construct-fists dimmer than usual. "Fine," he growled. "But I don’t like this. And I don’t trust him," he said, motioning toward the shadowed Sinestro still hovering like a silent warden.

"You’re not supposed to," Hal muttered. "Go. Back to Oa. I’ll talk to Arthur myself."

Tomar frowned. "You think he’ll listen to you?"

Hal smirked bitterly. "He’s still human like me... I think. And I’ll talk to him like one. Earthling to earthling. You guys being here might complicate matters, I’ll convince him to come with me."

Kilowog didn’t like it, that much was clear. But Hal had made his choice.

Reluctantly, the Lanterns turned. A silent retreat, pride swallowed in the name of survival.

As they began their ascent, pulling away from the suppressive aura of the island, the shadowed lanterns did not pursue. Instead, they hovered in place, watching... waiting for them to leave.

Sinestro’s shadow turned to Hal one last time, and offered a slow, mocking bow. It wasn’t gloating, it was a warning. One Hal understood all too well.

The green streaks of light faded into the sky, and the island returned to its former stillness.

The shadows retreated with them, vanishing like smoke. Back to their job, patrolling the skies.

Hal didn’t say it out loud.

But as the wind picked up behind him, he whispered under his breath:

"This won’t end with a talk. I know him too well at this point.."

****

Crackling softly in the center of the beach was the campfire Dick had insisted on building "the old-fashioned way," he’d claimed with a smirk and a flick of a lighter. The orange glow bathed the Titans in warm light, flickering across their relaxed postures and casual smiles.

Cyborg was poking at skewered sausages with a makeshift grill rig he’d cobbled together. Starfire sat beside him, her legs tucked under her, Beastboy was halfway through an animated retelling of the splash-fight that had turned into a full-on sky-and-sea brawl between Kara and Arthur earlier in the day.

"And then then I swear to you Arthur launched her straight out of the water, like a cannonball. And she just laughed! Mid-air! Like she wasn’t flying, just floating for fun. I’m over here drowning in splash damage!"

Cyborg chuckled, passing a plate to Starfire. "We saw that too Gar. I still don’t know what they were thinking with all that.."

"She punched the ocean," Beast Boy added, incredulous, waving his hands dramatically. "Like who does that?!"

Dick, poking the fire with a stick, glanced up with a knowing smirk. "You know you’re talking about them like they’re not walking up behind you, right?"

Beast Boy froze. "Wait, what?"

"Speak of the devil," Raven murmured, barely glancing up from the book she had open beside her. But her tone had shifted slightly sharper, alert.

Sure enough, footsteps approached from the shadows behind them. First came Arthur, hair tousled from sea wind. Kara was beside him, towel slung over one shoulder, the remains of their water-bound battle still lingering in the damp of her hair and the playful curve of her lip.

But what made the chatter stop completely was the third figure behind them.

She moved with a grace so natural it almost made the world pause to accommodate her. Pale skin. Gentle, knowing eyes. A hat that seemed to shade her without obscuring her features. No one knew her, yet somehow... she didn’t feel like a stranger.

"Whoa..." Beast Boy blinked, sitting up straighter. "Who’s this lady?"

He elbowed Jaime, then side-eyed Raven to gauge her reaction. Raven, who had closed her book now, said nothing. But her lips pressed into a subtle line. Not jealousy, just recognition. ’Isn’t that the girl from that café...’ Raven muttered to herself.

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

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

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