"Huh? You don't say". Amari said with a raised eyebrow.
"What could he possibly want to talk to me about? Did he discover the breaches? Or is it about Kara? Logically speaking, they shouldn't have met yet".
Amari thought curiously.
"What could he possibly want to talk to me about?" Clark frowned inwardly, not letting his inner thoughts show on his face.
At that moment, the front entrance of the Cave suddenly opened up, drawing both their attentions.
The Cave door widened, and a figure stepped out, coming into view.
"Superman....."...
Seeing the metal Android completely in red, a blue cape with gold edges, a T shaped symbol on his metallic chest area and a yellow arrow symbol on his forehead area, the image of a skinny air bender from "The Avatar" series suddenly crossed his mind for a split second.
Red Tornado paused, his head shifting to Amari's direction.
"..... I was not expecting you". The Android said in a robotic tone before turning to face Clark.
"Any problems Superman?"
"None". Clark replied.
"Good". His gaze once again returned to Amari.
"Megan has informed me on your actions. Conner is forever in your debt. You have my gratitude".
"I had my reasons. It needs no thanks". Amari replied indifferently at the sentence.
"Excuse me, but, what's going on?" At this point, Clark couldn't help but ask, feeling that he was missing something vital.
What the hell happened? Wasn't Amari a bad guy? Well, not a bad guy per se, but he certainly wasn't a nice one.
"It is not something that can be explained easily. You'll need to come inside for details. You might also get some surprises". His words left Clark even more stunned.
Red Tornado paid no attention to the bewildered Kryptonian.
"Will you be joining us?"
"No". Amari shook his head decisively at the question.
"Like I said to Superman, I'm just here for a second drop-off".
As he spoke, the space beside him swirled and a figure appeared out of thin air.
"Wally?" Clark couldn't help but exclaim, before his expression became... strange.
Confused, surprised, puzzled.
"Why is he….?" The Man Of Steel activated X-ray vision to examine this "Wally 's" internal structure.
"This is not Kid flash". Red Tornado spoke up from the side, examining the unconscious body with scrutiny.
"But... He looks just like him..... only older". Clark frowned.
This guy looked like an older version of Wally. And why was he wearing Barry's costume?
What the hell was happening? His expression wasn't good-looking as he questioned Amari in confusion.
"Who is he?" The first thing that came to mind was that Cadmus had created a clone of Kid flash.
"Wally West from Earth -1". Amari stated dully.
"Him and the other speedster. They should be the main protagonists of your incident. I don't know what to do with him, so figured I drop him off with you…"
Clark didn't register the rest. His mind was still stuck on the words, Earth -1.
"You're kidding right?" He asked incredulously.
"No, I'm not".
The atmosphere was enveloped in silence.
"How do you know this?" Seeing the older Wally west, Clark had a metaphorical headache.
The scene of Amari turning his back and walking away gave him his answer.
"You're leaving?"
"Yes".
"You can't seriously just drop this and waltz away". Clark's tone was serious.
The leaving figure paused. His head moved to the right, showing his side profile without turning around. The single eye fixed on Superman was narrowed.
Clark came back to his sense. This guy, wasn't someone to provoke casually.
In every sense, he could and ....
"Watch me". He most certainly would.
Clark felt another headache.
"Besides, you should get your answers when he wakes up". Amari replied in a casual tone.
This Wally west would most certainly wake up. By then, the league should know all that they need to know.
And then... they would definitely come find him.
"But you said we need to talk". Clark was unwilling to just let it go. This was something that needed answers.
"I did say that".
And so, his body began to blur.
"But I never said when.... And for the time being, your schedule is about to get seriously busy."
With that, the body of the Deviant disappeared, leaving an empty space.
"I'm taking him to the med bay". Clark turned his gaze from the space to the unconscious Kidflash and said grimly.
He didn't know why, Amari's tone, although flat, sounded strangely ominous.
It brought Clark that feeling of unease again.
"And then, you can tell me what the hell is happening here".
"Well that..... Let's just say you have a visit from a possible relative".
"A possible relative?" Amidst his bewilderment, the sound of rapid footsteps could be heard from the distance.
Clark's attention was drawn to the side as his eyes fell on a teenage girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, gazing at him intently.
"Hello?"
....
[Mysterious City Outside Gotham Remains. Will The Deviant Become The New Hero Of Gotham?]
Looking at the headline on the front page of The Gotham Globe, Amari's amusement was difficult to conceal.
"Seriously, who even writes this stuff". He said, seemingly to no one in particular, as he held the newspaper in his hands.
Funny when you think about it, in a time when the internet was heavily popularized and sharing of information had become as easy as drinking water, people still preferred to look at the newspaper to gain their daily dose of gossip.
"Would you like me to find out?" A voice inquired out of thin air to my rhetorical question.
"No Alice. That's not needed". He shook his head with a slight smile.
But, this headline was a stunner even for someone as apathetic as him
Needless to say, he could already guess that this was the work of a bold and bald billionaire genius with serious ego issues.
Was this his way of, pushing him towards the road of a hero?
Trying to utilize public opinion and the will of the masses to his advantage?
How sad.
Too bad, he wasn't Superman.
"It literally puzzles me why you continue to condone this". The voice of the AI in his ears sounded genuinely confused.
"What do you expect me to do? Rush up to the White House and kill the President of the United States?" His words would sound like the ramblings of a madman to a normal person.
"Yes". The AI replied with a "Matter Of Fact" tone.
"I'm a Law Abiding citizen, Alice. Do I look like a ruthless individual who goes about killing anyone who I have the slightest grudge against?"
"Wait..... Don't, answer that".
"..." Amari uncharacteristically cut off the AI before she could respond.
"You severely Injured the members of the Justice League who attacked you under the influence of mind control, and sent the others who tried to infiltrate the Axiom to God knows where".
"If that isn't ruthless, I don't know what is".
"..... Maybe I did overreact in that instance. But I think you're exaggerating a bit too much. I didn't kill any of them, and they can still continue with their normal lives". Amari paused for a second, showed a thoughtful look, then continued to read the newspaper.
"...." The AI didn't respond.
Giovanni Zatara literally had to start recultivating magic power from scratch, while Billy Batson's situation was even worse.
The power of the Gods was gone, two hands were disabled... Hal Jordan, who had recovered, had been outputting his ring, trying to fix the damage to the cells for days now.
Three days...
Since his last encounter with Superman at Mount Justice, three days had passed.
"I wonder what the little blonde is up to now. How did the meeting with Clark play out". A thought couldn't help but cross his mind for a split second.
Then, his attention returned to the newspaper.
"People sure have vivid imagination". This was the last thing he thought to himself before tossing the paper aside.
After getting involved with the heroes of this world and witnessing those of another, Amari decided to take some time off.
Not that he was actually doing anything to begin with.
He didn't want to speak to Superman right now. It would be best to talk when the league discovered the breaches themselves.
It would certainly take a while though and there might be some casualties before they would finally realize, but that wasn't his problem.
Leave the work of saving the world to its protectors.
So till then, he would stay in the place where they would least expect to find him.
Raising his head, the sight of rundown houses faded into decrepit factories and abandoned warehouses.
The musty smell of sewage and refuse intertwined to form a rather complex odor that would surely sting the nose of the Man Of Steel.
Gotham!
The city of darkness. Just as chaotic as he remembered it.
Even more chaotic, he presumed.
After all, Batman was in a coma.
He didn't know how long he would be out for, though.
The crime that was already prevalent in this dark city, without the presence of The Dark Knight grew even more rampant.
Without looking into the future, Amari knew that this was specifically instigated.
Lex Luthor and the light certainly had a hand in the immediate chaos. In the past two weeks, the crime rates in the city had soared to new heights the Gotham Police Department never thought possible.
Especially since the Joker busted out of jail. With no Batman to hunt him down, the prince of crime unleashed a spree all over the place.
For the citizens, there was no darkest day. Only darker ones.
The appearance of Batgirl and The Boy Wonder from time to time didn't help the overall situation much, either.
"Maybe you should consider the possibility that Lex Luthor truly intends to turn you into a hero".
"Funny..... The thought never crossed my mind".
"Then why here? In Gotham?"
"It's a popular landmark. Good place to take a nice walk. Besides, I don't think the Bat family would appreciate the idea even if I was up for it".
Gotham was a messy place. You could never overemphasize on that sentence.
Its nightlife had never been quiet. If anything else, you could count on the sound of gunshots, explosives, the random mugging, thuggery, gangs patrolling their turf, cartels carrying out illegal trade, so on and so forth.
Tonight was particularly active.
The sound of sirens in the distance was particularly clear. The surveillance blimps in the sky were still there.
They had become a lot less, though.
According to the news, the Joker had blown up a couple of them with missiles yesterday and the day before that.
It was quite a sight to behold.
Amari didn't care for any of this. He continued on his way without disturbing the "tranquil" ecosystem.
The muggers ignored him, the gangsters didn't see him, Amari even passed by killer croc in an alley. The latter didn't seem to notice his existence.
Just the way he wanted it to be. He didn't want to get involved.
After all, this was Batman's city.
Through a complicated process that he only half remembered, he ended up on the nice side of town, in a park area surrounded by tall buildings from all sides.
"The city can be roughly divided into two sides. The wealthy area, and the slums".
"Many cities have those two areas".
"True, but for a place like Gotham that has the behemoth known as the Wayne group, it takes the corruption in those two areas to the extreme".
"..... So have you decided?"
"Yes".
"And?"
"..... You can begin following the procedures. Set up everything that needs to be set up. Please let me know when you're done". Amari said casually as he sat on a bench, gazing into the open sky.
The moon shone brightly in all its glory.
Unlike the slums that had no life and no vitality, the area in this part of town was much more populated.
At least, you could see people coming and going all around. No one noticed him, though.
"... Are you sure you want to open it here?"
"Why hesitant?" Amari asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The idea of a new force won't sit well with the Bat family. They usually move to discourage all new organizations with untrustworthy backgrounds".
"All?"
"Not all. Only those who show the capability to grow big enough. It's been like this for years. Batman seems to want to maintain the status quo. Plus, those who can't typically disintegrate before the first three months. The waters in Gotham run deep, after all".
"I see.... After all, the addition of a new force could cause the scales of power and influence to shift. For Bruce, Wayne Group was probably enough". Amari thought with a nonchalant expression.
The Light had tried to include a new force into Gotham city as well. One solely under their control.
Batman and Wayne group immediately showed a no tolerance policy.
One was The Dark Knight, foiling all of their shady business deals, while the other was Wayne Industries that wanted to eliminate all possible new competitors.
"Gotham is already chaotic. Some more chaos may not necessarily be a bad thing. Besides, Batman is currently indisposed of". Amari uttered.
His words were an answer on its own.
Gotham was extremely chaotic. The person you spoke with an hour ago could be dead the next time you see him.
Joker was out of Jail, Batman was off the grid. Things had gotten even more chaotic.
So Why here? Why Gotham?
Answer..... No reason. He just felt like doing so.
"I find your sudden interest in opening a company in the most dangerous city in the world, rather astounding". The Red Queen spoke with unprecedented enthusiasm.
"Oh?" Amari chuckled. "Then what do you think I should be doing?"
"Meeting with the government to finalize your deal concern Project Steel Soldier".
"That's why I'm opening a company".
"An unnecessary action which is unlike you".
"The project doesn't need you to worry. Lane has been kidnapped by The Light, so there's no rush. The military will come to me sooner or later and Lex should well be on his way to starting a robot apocalypse. There's not much for me to do".
"What about Project Energy Ark?
"That....". Amari frowned slightly.
He was about to reply when.....
BOOM!
The park he was located in, which was filled thousands of people, suddenly exploded.
Fire and smoke spread rapidly as the whole park was engulfed in flames. That place wasn't the only location, though, several other locations also went up in flames.
The harbor, the west area of the slums, the train station....
It happened then. On the screens of almost every television in Gotham, a figure appeared.
It didn't matter what was on at that time. Whether it was the news, documentary, or children channel. As long as it was connected to the network, it all showed the same picture now.
The picture of a man whose skin was chalk white, his lips stained red and his hair dyed green.
The glint of madness in his eyes could be seen clearly as he stood in front of the camera with his frenzied smile.
"Good evening, citizens of Gotham. How are you doing this lovely evening? Well, your old Mr. J has a funny joke he wants to let you all in on...."
At that moment, something strange happened in the park.
The rapidly spreading flame suddenly receded like a tide. The fire, the smoke, all of it.
The massive explosion shrunk down rapidly, all converging at the same spot.
All the energy that emerged from that explosion was sucked into Amari's body without remnants.
Silence.
A suffocating silence enveloped the surroundings.
Amari's face was indifferent. There wasn't a speck of dust on his clothes, but the aura he emitted was drastically different from a few seconds ago.
"Should we continue to discuss the project?" The voice of the red Queen sounded in his ears again.
Amari turned his gaze towards a large screen on top of a building that was playing the recorded broadcast.
"That can wait. Right now, I have a clown to pay a visit. He should know that not all jokes are funny".
....
Wanted to wait for a while before posting the extra chapter, but... Meh.
Hope you enjoy.