The Batcave remained silent, illuminated only by the screens and equipment Batman had activated. After everything that had happened in Metropolis, Alex stood in front of one of the metal tables while several objects were spread across it: a piece of steel, a block of stone, a glass sphere, and a small electronic device.
Batman was reviewing the data from the previous tests on one of the screens. He did not seem satisfied with what he had discovered; the more he studied the results, the more questions appeared.
"We're starting over," Batman said. "I want to find out how far you can control matter without damaging it."
Alex picked up the piece of steel and examined it for a few seconds.
"What do I have to do?"
"Change its shape."
"Any shape?"
"Whatever you want."
Alex focused his attention on the metal. Slowly, the piece began to deform between his fingers until it became a perfectly smooth sphere. Alex held it in the palm of his hand and examined it curiously.
"It doesn't feel any different."
Batman stepped closer to examine it.
"Because you didn't change its composition. You only reorganized its structure."
Alex looked up.
"How do you know that?"
"The sensors are showing it."
Alex looked at the screens.
"So I can change matter without destroying it."
"It appears so. Now return it to its original shape."
Alex focused again, and after a few seconds, the sphere returned exactly to its previous form.
Superman watched from a few feet away.
"Is it difficult?"
Alex shook his head.
"Not really. It's strange. I don't feel like I'm using force. It's more like I understand how the object is built and can tell it how I want it to be."
Batman took a note.
"That's important."
Alex placed the piece on the table and looked at the glass sphere.
"Do you want me to try that?"
"Yes."
Alex picked up the sphere and repeated the process. The glass slowly changed shape until it became a cube, yet remained completely intact. He then turned it back into a sphere.
Batman checked the data.
"The composition remains the same."
Superman stepped a little closer.
"So he isn't creating new matter."
"No," Batman replied. "He's reorganizing what already exists."
Alex looked at his hands.
"Does that mean I could do this with anything?"
Batman shook his head.
"We don't know where the limits are yet."
Alex looked at the small electronic device sitting on the table.
"What about that?"
Batman placed it in front of him.
"Try."
Alex extended his hand, but stopped before touching it.
"It's different."
"What do you notice?" Batman asked.
"I can sense what's inside. The components, the connections... I can even distinguish what function each part serves."
Batman raised his eyes slightly.
"Don't open it."
"I wasn't planning to."
Alex focused his attention. A small component inside the device moved without anyone touching it.
Superman watched in surprise.
"Did you just move it from the outside?"
"Yes."
Alex focused again, and the component returned to its place.
Batman recorded the result.
"You can interact with objects without physical contact."
Alex looked at the device.
"I think I could rebuild the entire thing if I wanted to."
"Not yet," Batman replied.
Alex looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because we don't know what would happen if you lost control."
Alex slowly nodded.
"That makes sense."
Batman took a small metal sphere and placed it on the table.
"Now I want to test something else. Make it appear in your hand."
Alex looked at the sphere.
"Without touching it?"
"Without touching it."
Alex extended his hand. The sphere disappeared from the table and appeared directly in his palm.
Superman's eyes widened slightly.
"That was fast."
Alex looked at the sphere.
"I didn't have to think about it much."
Batman stepped closer.
"Now place it behind me."
Alex looked at Batman. The sphere disappeared and appeared behind him.
Batman turned around and looked at the object.
"What did you feel?"
Alex thought for a few seconds.
"It's difficult to explain. I didn't feel like I moved it. I simply knew where I wanted it to be and... it happened."
"Do you need to see the location?"
"No."
"Do you need to have been there before?"
Alex shook his head.
"No."
Batman remained thoughtful.
"Then maybe you're not moving the objects. Maybe you're altering their relationship with space."
Alex frowned.
"Does that mean I could do the same thing to myself?"
Batman looked directly at him.
"Probably."
Alex felt a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.
"I want to try."
"No," Batman immediately replied.
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because we still don't know what will happen if something goes wrong. With an object, we can afford to make mistakes. With you, we can't."
Superman approached and placed a hand on Alex's shoulder.
"Batman's right. You don't have to test everything today."
Alex lowered his gaze and sighed.
"I just want to know what I can do."
"And you're going to find out," Superman replied. "But you don't have to do everything at once. You just arrived in this world, and you're still trying to understand what happened to you."
Alex remained silent for a few seconds before nodding.
"Okay."
Batman looked back at his notes. He had accumulated a considerable amount of information in a very short time.
"So far, we have three different abilities: matter manipulation, structural perception, and spatial displacement."
Alex looked at him.
"And that's it?"
Batman shook his head.
"We don't know."
The answer left Alex thoughtful.
Superman watched his expression and understood that the problem wasn't simply discovering new abilities. Alex was trying to find an explanation for his own existence.
"Do you want to rest for a while?" Superman asked.
Alex took a moment to answer.
"Yeah... I think so."
Batman shut down some of the equipment and saved the results. However, before Alex could walk away, Superman spoke again.
"There's something else we need to take care of."
Alex looked at him.
"What?"
"You can't go out into the world without an identity."
Alex looked at the documents Batman had placed on the table.
"An identity?"
Batman nodded.
"A name, documents, a history, and credentials. You need to be able to study, travel, and use services without drawing attention."
Alex picked up one of the documents.
"And what name am I going to use?"
"Alex," Batman replied. "It's the name you remember, and we have no reason to change it."
Alex nodded.
"But I need a last name."
Batman began working on the computer.
"I already have one."
After a few minutes, he turned the screen toward Alex.
A new file appeared on it.
Alex Mercer.
Alex read the name several times.
"Alex Mercer..."
Superman smiled.
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah. I think it works."
Batman continued explaining as he reviewed the documents.
"You'll have an ID, basic documents, a history, and enough credentials to move around the country without raising suspicion. You'll also have an address and access to a bank account."
Alex stared at the screen in disbelief.
"You're giving me an entire life?"
Batman looked at him.
"I'm giving you the tools to build one."
Alex remained silent. The difference was small, but to him, it meant a lot.
Until that moment, he had been trying to figure out what he was. Now, for the first time, someone was talking about something different: who he could become.
Alex took the ID and looked at it for several seconds.
"It's strange."
"What is?" Superman asked.
"Having a name that feels real, but didn't exist a few hours ago."
Superman stepped closer.
"You don't have to pretend your old life never existed."
Alex lowered his gaze.
"That's the problem. I remember everything."
His voice changed slightly.
"I remember my family. My home. My friends. The things I used to do every day. I remember what my life was like before I died. And now I have to accept that all of that is behind me."
Superman remained silent.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to feel," Alex continued. "Everyone is trying to figure out what I am. Batman wants to understand my powers. The Green Lanterns want to know where I came from. You want to help me. But I don't even know what happened to me after I died."
Alex placed the ID back on the table.
"I don't know why I'm here."
Superman stepped a little closer.
"You don't have to have all the answers."
"But I need some."
"We'll find them."
Alex slowly shook his head.
"And what if we don't?"
Superman looked directly at him.
"Then we'll build something with what we have."
Alex didn't respond. He remained staring at the ID while the screens of the Batcave continued to illuminate the room.
Then he heard a voice.
"Alex..."
Alex immediately raised his head.
Superman looked at him.
"What's wrong?"
Alex looked around.
"Didn't you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Alex remained still.
"Someone said my name."
Batman also looked up.
"I didn't hear anything."
Alex closed his eyes.
The voice appeared again.
"Alex..."
This time it was clearer.
Alex brought a hand to his head.
"It's happening again."
Superman immediately approached him.
"What are you hearing?"
"A voice. It's inside my head."
"Do you recognize it?"
Alex hesitated.
"No... but there's something familiar about it."
Batman watched the equipment readings.
"Is it causing any reaction?"
Alex opened his eyes.
"I don't know."
The voice spoke again.
"You know me."
Alex felt a chill run through him.
"Who are you?"
No one answered from the Batcave. Only that voice.
"I'm you."
Alex froze.
"That doesn't make sense."
Superman frowned.
"What is it telling you?"
Alex didn't answer immediately. He was still listening to the voice.
"If you're me, why don't I remember you?"
The answer came after a few seconds.
"Because you're not ready yet."
Alex felt something run through his entire body. It wasn't pain. It was something much deeper, as if a part of him was trying to awaken.
"Ready for what?"
"To remember."
Alex clenched his fists.
"Remember what?"
"What you truly are."
Alex's breathing grew heavier.
"No."
Superman stepped closer.
"Alex, look at me."
But Alex could barely hear him.
The Batcave began to disappear from his perception.
For an instant, he found himself back in the void where he had awakened after dying. There was no ground, no sky, no stars. Only darkness.
A figure appeared in front of him.
It had his same face, his same eyes, and his same voice, but there was something different about it. It was like looking at himself from a perspective he couldn't comprehend.
Alex slowly approached.
"Are you me?"
The figure looked at him.
"I'm a part of you."
"What part?"
"The part you still cannot access."
Alex felt a mixture of fear and frustration.
"Then tell me what I am."
"Not yet."
"It's always the same!" Alex shouted. "Everyone says they don't know. The Green Lanterns don't know. Superman doesn't know. Batman doesn't know. And now you show up telling me that you have the answers, but you don't want to tell me anything either."
The figure remained calm.
"Because you still wouldn't be able to understand them."
"Let me decide that!"
"You're not ready yet."
Alex gritted his teeth.
"And when will I be?"
The figure took a step toward him.
"When you stop asking yourself what you are and start deciding who you want to be."
Alex remained silent.
The figure continued:
"You have spent too much time trying to find an explanation for your existence. But an answer won't tell you who you are. Your choices will."
Alex slowly lowered his gaze.
"Then why are you here?"
"Because I've always been here."
Alex looked up again.
"Since when?"
The figure began to fade.
"Since before you could remember."
Alex took a step toward it.
"Wait! I need to know more."
"You will."
"When?"
The voice echoed as the void began to disappear.
"When you're ready to open the next door."
Alex suddenly returned to the Batcave.
He was breathing heavily. Superman had one hand on his shoulder, while Batman watched the readings on the screens.
"Alex, are you okay?" Superman asked.
Alex took a few seconds to respond.
"The voice spoke to me again."
"What did it tell you?" Superman asked.
Alex looked at his hands.
"That it's a part of me."
"A part of you?" Batman asked.
Alex nodded.
"It says there's something inside me that I still can't access."
Batman studied the readings.
"Did it tell you what it is?"
"No."
"Did it tell you where it comes from?"
Alex shook his head.
"It only said that it's always been there. And that someday I'll remember."
Superman remained beside him.
"Did it hurt you?"
"No."
Alex paused before continuing.
"But it scares me."
Superman nodded.
"That's normal."
Alex looked at the ID on the table again.
Alex Mercer.
For a few seconds, he thought about everything he had lost and everything he still didn't understand. He had died as a person and awakened as something he couldn't even define. Now he had a body, powers, an identity, and a life he still didn't know how to live.
But he also had something else.
A part of himself that remained hidden.
A part that seemed to know answers he still wasn't ready to hear.
Alex picked up his ID again and put it in his pocket.
"I don't know what I am," he finally said. "But I'm going to find out."
Superman smiled slightly.
"That's a start."
Batman looked back at the screens.
"We'll continue the tests tomorrow."
Alex looked at him.
"Again?"
"Yes."
Alex let out a small laugh.
"Okay. But this time, try not to break me."
Batman answered with absolute seriousness:
"That is precisely the objective."
Superman burst out laughing.
Alex smiled as well.
For the first time since he had awakened in that void, the feeling of being completely lost began to fade.
He still didn't have the answers.
But now he had a name, an identity, people willing to help him, and a new life to begin.
And somewhere inside him, a door remained closed.
Alex still didn't know what was behind it.
But someday, he would have to open it.