WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story "The Quiet Ones" by Tony Patrick, Daniel Sampere, Adriano Lucas, & Andworld Design, from Dark Nights Death Metal: Robin King #1, on sale now
While some heroes have been constrained and limited during the events of Dark Nights: Death Metal, a handful have found themselves overcoming their inner darkness and their personal struggles to regain full control over themselves and their powers. The latest was on the streets of Gotham, with one of the Bat-Family's newest members rediscovering his true power.
While fighting an unexpected fusion of Batman and Ra's Al Ghul from the Dark Multiverse, Signal was exposed to the waters of the Lazarus Pit -- which ended up actually restoring the young hero's full powers over the light spectrum.
While working with Robin, Spoiler, and Orphan, Signal finds himself confronting a surprisingly massive Batman. This new villain seems to be composed of shimmering green liquid inside a high-tech suit reminiscent of the classic Teen Titans villain Chemo. Calling himself Quietus, the dark Batman focuses his attention towards Signal. Quietus attacks Signal, bombarding him with the strange green liquid within himself. Quietus explains that he's from a reality where Batman failed in his mentorship of Signal, leading directly to the death of the young hero. Lost in grief over his actions, Batman brought him to the Lazarus Pit of his world to restore Duke.
Ra's Al Ghul attempted to stop his longtime enemy from making his way to the pit, but in their fight, both men were killed. Together, the two dying men fell into the Lazarus Pit -- their dying essences merging into a single new form. This was also affected by Duke's body, which fell into the pit but had been dead long enough to not be a part of the fusion. Instead, his powers affected the Lazarus Pit waters and helped fuse their life to the liquid.
Initially, Quietus believes that he can convince Signal to allow his defeat so as to finally end all versions of the young hero. But it turns out the Lazarus Pit waters that Quietus threw at Signal ended up having an effect on Duke. After having his power diminished by the core-DC Universe Ra's Al Ghul servant Ishmael, the rejuvenating waters restore his powers to full strength. This allows him to spot the weak points in Quietus' armor, giving the rest of his allies plenty of time to strike and bring down the dark Batman.
Duke Thomas has been in a dark place since his confrontation with Ra's Al Ghul that turned his powers from light to dark. This inner darkness was one of the major subplots of his time among the Outsiders. But now, amidst all the chaos and destruction of Dark Nights: Death Metal, Signal has gotten the chance to restore himself to full power. Alongside the other young members of the Bat-Family, it means the streets of Gotham have protectors, even from the legions of dark Batmen who've done their best to destroy everything and restart the multiverse in their image.