The scene on the screen leaves the theater tense.
The heroes quickly piece it together—Present Mic’s theory about Icicle Senior seems right. From the women’s side, Killer Frost approaches the glass divider, drawing closer to the men’s section.
Present Mic leans forward, connecting the dots. “I see it now. Mr. Freeze, Killer Frost, and Captain Cold are all gathering around the brains of the operation—Icicle Senior. The major muscle has already met the mastermind. The last missing piece is the mastermind’s son, Junior.”
Midnight nods, watching Superboy’s disguise carefully. “Then Tommy Terror needs to stay close to Junior. Gain his trust, play the part of a buddy, and hope Junior spills something about what his father is planning.”
Before Junior can even join the group, he’s suddenly tackled to the ground by a familiar face from the League of Shadows.
Several heroes recognize him immediately.
“Ojo,” Aizawa says flatly. “The same operative from the night we met Artemis and Dr. Serling Roquette was targeted. He used Roquette’s nanobots to attack Miami Beach University and STAR Labs while gathering intel.”
Now Ojo is here, as an inmate.
At first, it looks like a harmless prison scuffle, but this is Belle Reve. Every action inside these walls carries meaning.
Ojo’s fist slams toward Junior’s face, and before anyone can stop themselves from reacting, Tommy Terror steps forward to defend him.A murmur spreads across the theater. The prison guards merely stand there, watching as if it were entertainment. One of the head guards even mutters to let it happen—a “lesson” for Tommy Terror.
Some of the villains in the audience sneer in disgust at the guards’ indifference.
The heroes understand the logic, even if not all of them agree with the method.
The hardest thing to remember is that those collars make everyone effectively powerless, Quirkless.
It doesn’t matter whether an inmate could go toe-to-toe with Superman or stand against the current Number One Hero, Endeavor.
