After the events that transpired in Markovia, the next stage of Arias's plan began. During this stage, Arias remained unresponsive to the events happening around the world, just like the Light.
What the Light did do, however, was funnel money toward the rapidly growing Human Supremacy organization.
An entire week passed with Arias making no major moves, just observing and learning from the changes his actions caused. The biggest event of that week was the announcement that Terra was next in line to take the throne of Markovia. However, given her age, her uncle, Fredrick Delamb, would step up as acting regent until she was deemed ready.
Arias saw no point in rushing Terra to the throne; it would only cause more suspicion to linger around her. But if another ruler stepped up and the events slowly faded from memory, what would there be to say?
People only really ever cared about hot news, and once it went cold, it mattered very little. Fredrick Delamb was also a pawn of the Light, not just Arias alone, so by making him the leader instead of Terra, it gave the impression that Arias wasn't trying to monopolize power.
With so much going on, Arias was no longer a headline by the third day of the week, proving that people were only interested in what was trending.
With attention now on the anti-meta group, the world and the League had a new focus. While they concentrated on that, Arias could slowly shift the balance of power in the world while appearing to be the good guy.
Finally, on the last day of the week, while roaming around the grounds of his estate, Arias received a call he had been expecting much earlier.
"Hello?" he answered nonchalantly, as if the caller had interrupted something important.
**[It's me, Bruce,]** replied a low-sounding Batman on the other end.
A smile crept onto Arias's face as he responded, "Oh? You were the last person I expected to call me, Bruce. It must be really important," he said, his voice carrying a hint of mockery and displeasure.
There was no need to act friendly with Bruce; doing so would only ruin the image Arias had worked so hard to build.
None the wiser, Bruce replied, **[I know we don't see eye to eye, but right now we have a common enemy.]**
"The Human Supremacy Group," Arias finished, saying the name in a rough and angry tone, further selling his image.
**[Yes. Whether you admit it or not, I know you consider them a threat. I've noticed that security around Gotham has increased exponentially, especially around schools, residential areas, and the harbors. I know this was all done by you,]** Batman revealed, as if stating something that would surprise Arias.
But it didn't. With the rise of the Human Supremacy group, it was only natural for Arias to improve the security around his institutions, as they housed meta-humans. However, he took it a step further and bolstered security within and around Gotham as a whole.
Unless someone dug deep into where the funds came from, they would assume it was just the city protecting its citizens, not Arias.
Why do this and not gain better public opinion? Because Arias was playing the role of the misunderstood victim. He already had a cult following of supporters, so improving his reputation wasn't a priority.
Instead, he secretly moved funds, knowing that Gotham's Caped Crusader would eventually find out. And when he did, wouldn't his impression of Arias change?
Sure, unlike Batman, Arias killed his enemies. But the fact remained that he still did what he was doing for the betterment of the city.
Batman wasn't blind; he could clearly see this. His own methods had barely made Gotham safer, whereas Arias had turned it into one of the safest cities in the world.
If Arias truly was the villain the government made him out to be, he would have long since killed Superman and even Bruce himself. He had the means and intelligence to carry this out, but he didn't.
Still, Arias remained unmoved by Batman's words. "So? I want my people safe while I learn more about this organization. They won't be a threat for long."
**[We want the same thing—to bring them down before they have a chance to grow even bigger and expand. I propose your team works covertly with the League to uncover and take out the group's depots and stations.]**
Arias fell silent for a moment, as if pondering Bruce's words carefully. After a few seconds passed, Arias sighed, as though resigning himself to the circumstances. "You make a compelling point, Bruce. But I have two conditions."
**[I'm listening,]** Bruce replied cautiously, worried about what those conditions might be.
"The first should be obvious: I will not spare these individuals and allow them the comfort of arrest, where they can escape in time and continue what they were doing," Arias stated firmly, making his stance on the matter clear.
Batman went silent briefly, as if weighing his options, before finally answering. **[And the second?]**
Arias smiled at Bruce's indirect way of agreeing. When push came to shove, it seemed he had very few options. Then again, despite how cruel Gotham was before Arias came, it wasn't every day you saw a group that executed children live.
"The second is that I want you to continue mentoring Barbara Gordon as Batgirl. She's not going to abandon the idea of fighting crime despite her talents in other areas. I'd prefer she learns from someone with experience rather than venturing out on her own and getting herself killed," Arias revealed, his tone hinting at his care for the young girl.
He didn't really need her to be trained by Batman, but after noticing the team of juniors present in the League during the Markovia incident, he felt the need to plant an agent of his own.
There was no certainty that it would yield any gains, but the chances were definitely higher. Best of all, Batman taking the initiative to approach him was a clear sign that his facade had fooled even him, at least for now.
This time, it was Batman who went silent for a moment before giving his answer.
**[We have a deal.]**
With the deal done, Arias wore a slight smile, thankful for the easy benefits Batman had just provided.