Once Arias left the Gotham Heights school, he immediately returned to Markovic Tower, where he was met by an angry Mercy as he approached his office.
"A daughter?! You and Lex really are the same," she vented, visibly bothered by Arias's latest… acquisition.
Arias approached her with a smile and held her by the waist before speaking arrogantly. "Someone sounds jealous. Don't worry, she's just a means to an end. And here I thought you were starting to understand me."
Mercy struggled in Arias's hold, frowning at him. "What's there to understand? You both have a thing for fathering children from unknown women."
Her words only caused Arias to smile, her stubbornness and anger as entertaining as ever. To shut her up, he forced his lips onto hers. She continued to struggle, but her tongue worked around his with quite some effort, contradicting her body's resistance.
Once he pulled away, Arias wore a smug grin. She saw this and immediately got irritated, pushing him away.
"I'm glad you took my advice—you taste so much sweeter minty," Arias mocked, while Mercy just took a seat, refusing to look his way.
"Just fuck off!" she snapped.
Arias shrugged at the comment. "As charming as ever. By the way, could you look into a child by the name of Rachel Roth? I'd do it myself, but why bother when I have such a capable and sexy assistant?"
His tone carried sarcasm, which made his compliments sound mocking. Still, Mercy took what she could get and didn't protest. "Whatever."
Arias's smile faded, and he walked into his office with another thought in mind.
After some time, Slade came to his office, visibly bothered by something.
"Whoever the League sent to watch you, she's good. She's more alert now, so catching her is beyond tricky," he reported, leaning against the wall.
Arias didn't care much about the matter. It wasn't like his life was in any great danger; he just disliked the idea of someone monitoring his movements.
"I'm sure you'll figure out something, but if she continues to be an annoyance, I'll catch her myself, so don't bother too much with that. Besides, I have another matter I need your help with," Arias replied, turning his gaze away from his computer.
Hearing that his help was needed, Slade leaned forward with an intrigued expression, curious about what Arias was plotting now. "I'm a man of many talents, so what do you need me to do… or kill?" he asked with a slight smile, still happy over Amanda Waller's death.
Arias leaned back in his chair and explained his encounter with Raven briefly before getting to the point. "That encounter made me realize that Gotham Heights will be lacking teachers in the… occult department, if you will. I wanted to ask if you know anyone capable in that area. The looser their morals, the better."
Slade approached Arias's desk, pondering the question. "Let's see. I know a few, but every single one of them is… let's say strange.
"The most notorious is Circe, a demigod. I only heard about her from Vandal Savage, but I hear she has some association with that princess you're harboring, so you're better off asking her."
"The second is probably Morgana le Fay. I haven't met her myself, and she's very reclusive. I've only heard rumors, but if she's as powerful as they say, she might be what you're looking for."
"And last but not least, Tala. Very… uhm, quirky. She popped up not too long ago and has been looking for weird stuff in the underworld—the more ancient and mythical, the better. Surprisingly, she resorts to petty crime to get by, so you could sway her with money. Ironically, she was also on Waller's radar for recruitment. Her location should be in those files I retrieved."
Arias soaked in the information and nodded accordingly. "Get the location and observe her for now. Build me a profile I can work with."
Slade smiled and nodded. "Consider it done."
...
Meanwhile, back in Washington D.C., a plot was brewing.
Inside the Oval Office, the President and Superman were engaged in a private meeting. The focus of the conversation was… Luthor's death.
"It just doesn't add up. No matter how many times I look over the evidence, it leads me to believe that Luthor was killed," a frowning Superman revealed as he stared down the President, arms crossed.
President Ross sighed and shook his head. "Look, Clark, it's already clear to me that foul play was involved. But this is Luthor we're talking about. Whoever did it did the world a favor, if you ask me."
Clark's frown deepened at those words. "Luthor or not, the crash took the lives of many. Whoever did this is clearly powerful, and who's to say it won't be the last time they pull a stunt like this?"
Ross could see that Clark was unwilling to let the matter go, so he didn't push further. "Fine. Investigate as you will, but like I said, Luthor had a lot of enemies. It's going to be like finding a needle in a haystack."
Clark began to hover off the ground, his expression showing determination. "Then I'll start with his most recent enemy—Arias Markovic."
Hearing that name, President Ross showed a very visible frown.
"I won't stop you, but heed my warning. No matter how you look at it, Arias Markovic is a brilliant and well-loved figure. If he were older, I'd be worried about a possible presidential contender. Luthor clearly failed to act against him for reasons beyond me, and I suspect his arrest was also Arias's doing."
Clark paused, looking at Ross with a narrowed gaze. "That just makes him more likely to be the one behind it."
Ross sighed again. "It does. But it also means he's someone who managed to get rid of Luthor without incurring any losses. Are you really prepared to make someone like that your enemy?"
Those words caused Clark to wonder for a moment, but his mind seemed set.
"I am."