It was just a little past 9 p.m. when a duty guard discovered that Selina's cell was empty. A few minutes later, the news reached Gordon, who then forwarded the information to Arias and the press, marking Selina as a wanted criminal.
Arias had been lounging around in the living area of his penthouse when he received the call. He wasn't too surprised by the news, despite how unexpected it was. From what he had concluded about Selina, he was confident that she would fall for the sake of protecting the one she loved… but not everything is so straightforward.
As he sat there on his couch with his arms stretched and the sound of the television in the background, he reached a conclusion. *"Well, since I can't use Selina… I'll have to settle for Barbara."*
To Arias, both women could serve a useful role in providing information on heroes. He preferred Selina more in this regard due to her very loose moral compass. Barbara, despite her separation from Batman and Robin, was still good at heart, which meant it would be much more difficult to get her on board unless he used some more unsavory means.
And right now… that seemed to be the best option.
At that point in time, Apeiro's lovely voice resonated in his mind.
*["The more I watch you, the more I grow confused as to why you even bother with these inferior lifeforms. Your time is wasted on them…"]*
Like a strict mother, Apeiro sometimes spoke in a lecturing tone towards Arias, as if he were an unruly child. To that, he casually sighed and shook his head.
"It will take time for me to fully come to terms with what I am now. As for my time, I can't very well waste it since I'm immortal. I'm doing what I'm doing not for some greater purpose but for selfish reasons. I want to mold this world, this reality, in my image. I have an eternity to achieve this, so why rush and use force?"
*["But…"]*
"Don't you want to enjoy this world with me? Imagine all the possibilities open to us, especially once you gain a body of your own."
*["…I… see what you mean."]*
She really didn't. In her mind, the options she was thinking of were far more… intimate than even Arias could imagine. Having observed numerous realities and beings for an unknown time, the number of things she wanted to try intimately with him were as vast as the universe itself.
As for Arias, his words were meant to appeal to her motherly nature, thinking she would want to spend time with the son she loved so much. Unlike her, who had no restraints with intimacy towards her own child, Arias was yet to consider the idea.
"I knew you would. After all, no one understands me better than you."
While Arias was unknowingly promoting universal incest, Luthor's plan had been set in motion.
It began at the very harbor that Arias had sold to him. A usual late shipment of containers had arrived and were unloaded onto the harbor, where they would be inspected the next day before further processes were done.
However, one of the containers that arrived that night was far from normal.
As a guard was patrolling the harbor for criminals looking to get lucky, he stumbled upon a dark green container that had a strange sound coming from it.
The guard, a Hispanic male in his late thirties, put away his flashlight and approached the container. As he did, the fizzling sound became clearer.
His first thought was, of course, that whatever was inside the container—perhaps a gadget—was on. He brought his walkie-talkie to his mouth while leaning against it.
"Hey, Reggie, I'm getting some strange sounds coming from container… arck!"
Before the guard could finish his sentence, a large solid blue icicle erupted from the container and went right through his chest. His eyes widened in shock, but he could utter no words as blood began to flow from his mouth like a fountain.
He quickly lost strength in his arms as the life drifted from his body. The walkie-talkie fell from his hand, and by the time it made impact, the man was dead.
Following his death, two more very large icicles emerged from the container, completely ripping apart the doors. Once the doors were fully destroyed, three figures emerged from inside.
Standing in the lead position was the familiar figure of Shade, wearing his usual formal attire, top hat, thin round shades, and a cane as his accessory.
Upon exiting the container, he had a frown on his face as he turned to one of the other two and spoke. "Did you have to make the inside so damn cold? We almost froze to death because of you."
The person he was directing his words to was a woman with pale skin and white hair that appeared to be made of ice. Her eyes were deep blue, matching her full lips. She wore a blue and white outfit that resembled a jumpsuit or bodysuit. The outfit was form-fitting with a high collar, showing off an incredible figure, and had a stylized snowflake emblem on the chest.
This person was Killer Frost. She frowned at the comment and narrowed her eyes toward Shade. "Keep pushing, and I'll do worse," she warned.
But before Shade could answer back, the third figure intervened. This particular person stood out most among the three as she had a golden/yellowish hue of fur covering her body with spots. The spots on her fur were black and evenly distributed over her entire body, including her arms, legs, and face.
From afar, one would think this half-woman, half-beast was naked, but in fact, she wore a fur-trimmed leotard that left her arms and legs bare, which also had clawed boots and gloves to match. It carried a nearly identical print to her fur, giving the illusion of her being fully nude. Her long, flowing brown hair was among the few features that still looked human, as even her eyes and teeth resembled those of a big cat.
She was Cheetah. Cheetah said nothing and turned to face the dead body of the guard who had just died. The walkie-talkie he had dropped was still transmitting sound.
*["Hello? Hey, what are you saying, Richie? Oi, Richie. Damned piece of junk must have stopped working again…"]*
*Crack!*
Without hesitation, she stomped on it with her foot, annoyed, before turning to face Shade.
"Can we get on with it?"