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To the attention of the readers who enjoy reading an intelligent main character like Miles will definitely like my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
—
Watchtower
"May I assume it went relatively well?" he asked the members gathered around the table.
The Justice League was battered and bruised, but all had returned in one piece. Superman looked to be in the worst condition among the members. Even then, most of it had already healed.
"Darkseid tried to bargain with Brainiac by bringing me to his ship. He then tried to hack Brainiac's ship, but we managed to win in the end," Clark summarized the entire battle.
"I am sure you are all itching to rest. We can talk about the details later," he said. Not that there was much to discuss.
One by one, the members began to leave to rest. Miles stopped Batman, holding out a small bag.
"What is it?" Bruce asked. He didn't even attempt to take the bag at first, but Miles held it closer.
They locked eyes, and the Dark Knight finally deigned to take the bag, blinking, "Clothes for a child? Why?"
His question was understandable. As a solitary creature, a life companion was not in the plans of Batman. Unless he somehow slipped out, there would be no child born from him.
Miles' grin was genuine as he handed out the file to Batman. Locating the Infinity Island was not easy, but the discomfort Batman must be feeling now was worth it.
"Who is this?" he asked, looking at the photos of a child that carried his characteristics, with green eyes that he knew all too well.
"Damian Wayne," he said. One of the most paranoid men in the world had been drugged so his obsessive stalker could have his child. The act itself was abhorrent, which was the only reason he did not laugh.
Batman sighed. "Talia."
He knew that the daughter of Ra's al Ghul had feelings for him. He would be hard-pressed to call it genuine love. A momentary lapse in judgment was all that she needed to drug him since he did not remember an encounter that might lead to a child.
He made sure to use protection all the time.
"Yes. Knowing her, she either didn't take the pill or slipped you one," Miles stated the obvious.
"What is he like?" he asked. He had a son that he knew nothing about.
"He is being raised to take over Ra's al Ghul's position. So a little ball of murder and edginess," he explained. Damian was seven years old, and Ra's had already been grooming him to be the future leader of the League of Shadows. Probably as soon as the child was capable of understanding some things.
"Damn it, Talia," Batman grimaced. Ra's al Ghul and Talia were some of the last people on the face of Earth that should be raising a child.
"Look on the bright side. At least Robin is getting a little brother."
"Though, I can't imagine Wonder Woman will be delighted to hear what Talia has done," Miles added, turning to glance at the door where the Amazonian had left.
It wasn't exactly a secret that Wonder Woman enjoyed Batman's company. Not that the Dark Knight showed any feelings in that direction due to his fear of losing loved ones.
The lenses of Batman's cowl narrowed. "Then don't tell her anything."
"My lips are sealed," he assured, making a zipping motion.
Why would he share the joy of making Batman uncomfortable with anyone else?
—
Metropolis
For the foreseeable future, he had only one appointment. The supercomputer was about to become operational. It would stay under the labs until the carrier was ready.
He decided on a last-minute stop before that.
"Do you want to meet your mother and sister?" he asked Jade. She still had not left the house or attempted to contact the League of Assassins. For all that she believed herself unworthy of being on the side of good, she also did not wish to go back to the League.
He wanted to see if she would be willing to reconnect with her family. It would go a long way to change her mindset.
Jade squinted her eyes, watching him. "Why? So I can put them in danger?"
"You are KIA, and the League of Assassins would never bother to keep watch on a crippled woman. Nor her young, unaffiliated daughter," he said. The reasoning behind it was simple. Paula Crock was crippled from the waist down. Regardless of her identity as a former villainess, she did not present anything of value to the League.
Artemis was trained, but she detested her father and would never agree to work for the organization he belonged to. Breaking her will would lessen her efficiency.
Ra's did not need mindless drones.
He also had access to the database of the fortress. He knew for a fact they did not even keep them on the documents.
"You seem to know a lot about the League," she said. Her suspicion was understandable.
"You still haven't answered my question."
"I don't think it is safe." She turned away, looking out the window.
"Safety is not an issue. Just let me know when you are ready, and I can arrange it."
—
EnviroCorps Robotics Research Center
"Wow," Zalika muttered, running her hands over the massive computer with a holographic screen. Even without a full connection, she could feel just how advanced it was.
"Take a seat," he said.
She did, laying her hands on the neural connectors, and the computer came to life. It would be an extremely efficient tool in increasing the
"She gets a new toy, but we don't? Doesn't seem fair to me," Claire grumbled, sticking her tongue out.
"Ah yes," Thomas raised a briefcase, "I did also prepare these."
Three silver watches lay inside.
"A watch? Thanks, doc," she said, taking one of them. She put it on her wrist, and the metallic straps fused seamlessly.
"Adaptive Nanotech Armors. They can scan and replicate the powers of most metahumans you'll come across, just like your friend here." Thomas pointed at Amazo.
The android had chosen to follow him after the League had returned. He technically didn't have a home but possessed many more questions that he was happy to answer.
"You have replicated the professor's technology? How?" Amazo turned sharply to the other android in the room.
A quick scan of the watches revealed they each contained a nanomachine swarm in a subspace pocket that would create an armor around the wearer once activated.
"He and I were rivals," Thomas said. Miles had told him that Amazo didn't have any education from Ivo, rendering him an extremely advanced but childishly naive android.
"Now this is what I am talking about," Baraka grinned from the back, taking the second watch, leaving the one in the middle for Miles.
"The system will be fully functioning as soon as the delivery is made." Thomas was speaking of the satellite. He was hesitant to speak due to the latest addition to his circle.
"Thank you, Thomas. I will handle that part soon," he assured. Getting the satellite up in orbit would mean Zalika could control his network in real time, across the globe.
"I will be at the lab if you need anything."
Thomas left the floor as Amazo's eyes trailed him.
"What delivery was he speaking of?" he asked.
Miles smiled.
"My job, Amazo, is to know," he gestured to the computer.
"Know what, exactly?"
"To where Lex Luthor is sending an illegal shipment of weapons. Who the League of Assassins are targeting. The names, locations, and plans of the villains who intend to cause mass destruction across the planet."
Miles knew Amazo trusted him and, to a degree, looked up to him. By growing that trust, he would influence the android's childhood phase, so to speak.
"You help the League counteract dangers before they are fully realized," Amazo said.
"I do."
The android fell silent. The answer must have created more questions for him.
"Miles, bad news. Sportsmaster is seeking another apprentice," Zalika said.
There was only one person he could target.
"Artemis." Miles felt like groaning. Since Lawrence outlived his usefulness, he would not go scot-free this time.
"It appears we are returning to Gotham again," he said. All roads seemed to lead there.
"May I assist you?" Amazo asked. The three of them could handle Sportsmaster, but the android's help would be welcome.
"Certainly, though, you will need a disguise," he said.
Amazo's form fluctuated. He shrank, taking the appearance of a muscular, ginger-haired young man, inspired by his creator, no doubt.
"From Martian Manhunter?" he asked for the sake of having asked.
"Yes. They allowed me to replicate their abilities to fight Darkseid," he said.
—
Gotham.
Miles knocked on the door of the apartment Artemis and her mother, Paula, shared. Claire, Baraka, Amazo, and Jade, wearing an oversized hoodie with a long hood, stood behind him.
Artemis opened the door. She crossed her arms upon seeing him. "Here to make another delivery?"
"Miles Beckett, a pleasure." He tilted his head down. Artemis was too smart to not catch on to his little visit last time.
"Figured you weren't some random delivery guy. What do you want?" she asked. She lowered her arms, one sneaking behind the door, and the young girl tensed.
"Is your mother inside?" he asked. Paula did not tend to leave her apartment much. Her phone signal was also inside.
"May I help you?" the woman in question asked. Hearing her mother, Artemis opened the door wider, still tense.
"It concerns Lawrence, so perhaps we should take this inside?" he requested. Paula watched him and his entourage. Either her instincts decided he wasn't a threat to her, or she knew a fight would be very one-sided.
Most likely the former.
"Come in," she invited. Artemis glanced at her mother, eyes wide, but allowed them inside.
"Lovely apartment. Very cozy," he said. The mother and daughter had made this place into a home as the last piece of their family left together.
"What did he do now?" Paula asked once they were seated in the living room. Amazo and Baraka were standing near the door, while he and Claire sat down.
Jade was waiting just beyond the door.
"I faked Jade's death, and now he is seeking a new apprentice," he explained. That broke Paula's poker face. She gripped the handrests of her wheelchair, leaning forward.
"He is stupid to think I would ever go with him," Artemis replied after closing her open mouth.
"I do not think he intends to give you a choice. If you would allow us, we would like to deal with him."
He didn't want Lawrence to think anything was wrong.
"Now, I am aware a complete foreigner appearing at your door, warning you about your estranged husband, is extremely suspicious. Which is why I brought your daughter with me," he said.
Jade entered the room on cue, removing her hoodie and raising a nervous hand.
"Hey Mom, hey Sis."
"Jade?!" Paula said, her voice wavering. She wheeled herself forward, wrapping her arms around her daughter. Artemis followed her, stumbling.
Miles thought it best to give the family time to catch up. The four of them waited in the kitchen, observing the streets from the window. Lawrence would be here in a couple of hours. He wanted to prepare a flawless welcome.
"Hey, come in," Artemis said.
Seated once again before the puffy-eyed family, Miles waited for Paula to speak.
"Thank you for bringing my daughter back," she said, squeezing Jade's hand.
"How do you want to handle Lawrence?" He had caused enough chaos in their lives. If this man could make him disappear forever, she wouldn't ask any questions.
"I'll need the apartment. Meanwhile, why don't I send the three of you on a small vacation?" he said. It would be best to not have any witnesses.
"A vacation? To where?" Paula asked. She wouldn't be surprised if Lawrence was keeping an eye on them. Plane tickets, credit card spending, and even having their ID scanned at the airport could result in triggering the surveillance network of the League of Assassins.
"Hawaii," Miles said. The vacation paradise was not a place Ra's would seek his enemies.
"I have school, and it's too far," Artemis complained.
"And I have a teleporter," he replied in return.
"You have a what?" Paula asked, taken aback.
"A teleporter," he repeated to the incredulous looks.
"Yes, he does. That's how we came here, actually," Jade said. It was surreal to be in Metropolis one second and in Gotham the next.
"The property is private, and there will be no trail that you ever left your house."
The answer was clear.
—
Sportsmaster opened the window, slowly pushing it up. Both Paula and Artemis should be in at this hour. He landed on the floor, checking the empty bedroom. The noise of the TV came from the living room.
His steps were silent to not alert them. When he entered the living room, he found a man lounging on the sofa, watching TV.
"Lawrence, come in."
He reacted, pulling out his knife while running at the man. He took three steps while his target merely glanced at him before turning to the TV.
Sportsmaster felt something was wrong. He tried to backtrack, but someone grabbed him by the neck. The next thing he knew, his nose was broken as his whole face bloomed in pain.
Disoriented, he pushed himself onto his back, seeing a ginger-haired man looking down at him with a blank expression.
"Here I am, inviting you inside like a gracious host, and you pull a knife on me. Does Ra's not teach common courtesy to his minions? Or are you just a blunt tool that he didn't see the need to educate?" the man asked.
Uttering the name of the Demon's Head so casually meant he was someone who knew more than most.
Groaning to hide his movements, he reached down for the hockey puck. A kick to his abdomen broke the device and bruised a rib.
"Please, go ahead. You will run out of weapons to use before he gets bored by painting the floor with your face," the man replied, eyes still locked on the TV.
"Who are you?" he grunted out.
"Your reckoning."
"How edgy."
"It's the truth," he replied, turning the TV off.
"Jade is fine, by the way. I didn't actually kill her. You see, unlike you and the little cult you belong to, I don't abuse children."
His eyes narrowed behind the mask. The admission made everything fall into place now.
"Touching. Get to the point."
"I considered killing you. You are garbage, but a bullet through the head is more merciful than you deserve," the man said. He was surrounded by three people when a fourth one, with pink hair of all things, entered the room.
"Which is why he is going to do something far worse to you."
"Do you know what locked-in syndrome is?" The man asked again. Sportsmaster did have a rough idea.
"It is a state of wakefulness and awareness with paralysis of the whole body except the eyes. You can see, hear, and feel everything, but you can't react to it. A prisoner in your own body."
"Everyone will believe you suffered an injury that paralyzed you, while you will be locked deep inside your own mind to suffer for however long the health system keeps you alive."
His eyes widened in terror for the first time, and he tried to make a break for it. He froze, feeling something cold slither through his skull.
"Don't worry, mate, this is only going to hurt a lot," the British voice said, and he could hear the glee in it.
Lawrence could not even scream as his mind was torn apart.
—
In the next chapter:
"You want to unify the planet? Good luck with that," she scoffed. The politicians and dictators like Maksai would sooner bend over for Darkseid than unify to save the Earth.
"Do you want to free Zambesia, or not?" he asked. Vixen's belief in his plans was not necessary. Only her help in taking down the dictator of Zambesia.
"Why should I trust you?"
The assistance of someone who could acquire these recordings would be great.
If she could trust him.
"Hey there," a voice came from the sky. "Hope I am not interrupting."
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