The Greedy Frog
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DC: A Spatial Manipulator Chapter 19
🕑 Added 2023-03-22 03:05:24 +0000 UTCChapter 19: Superman Slayer
Sometimes… crying helps. And spending hours crying helps even more.
A huge rock has been lifted off my chest— a rock that has been crushing me. But now, my mind is clear and heart steeled. I know exactly what I have to do from now on.
"Aren't you late?" Selina asked as she laid naked on the bed.
"I am."
But I didn't care. I could teleport there if needed and I have decided to live my life free from most worries.
"So when will you be back?" She asked, getting off the bed and putting on her bra.
"The location is Blue Hale, so the trip will be of three days. I need to make sure that every kid gets home safe… and I have to meet someone. So, I will be back after 4 days."
Selina nodded and kissed me before walking towards the bathroom.
"Stay safe."
"I will."
…
…
[[Lena Luthor]]
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And the more admirable they are, the more disgraceful their fall is.
That's a saying that has been passed down through generations. And as someone from the upper echelon of the wealthiest family— I have seen a fair few succumbing to such fate.
"Are you sure about this… Lex?"
I asked the man who was once at the top but now was at his rock bottom.
My brother, Lex Luthor.
"Lena, Lena, Lena… Oh, my sweet little sister." He stared right into my eyes, sending shivers down my spine— not in ecstasy, but in fear. "I have never been so sure."
His once bright blue eyes were now dull and hazy— he was blinded by revenge.
"Trust me Lena, trust me. Our plan will succeed."
His plan… not ours.
I have been with him through thick and thin— something that he never valued. But despite that, I have done my best to help and persuade him, but he never listened. Even so, I cannot leave him. After all… he is my older brother.
Regaining his sanity and fixing his composure, he said—
"Come with me, Lena." He said, adopting his poker look. "Let me show you my greatest weapon."
He was unstable. His moods swung faster than a pendulum. But no one can deny that he is a genius and I am certain that his new creation is out of this world— but I don't know if even that would be enough to bring down the man of steel.
He guided me through the halls towards one of his many labs. But this one was special… special in the sense that it had no weird aliens floating around in test tubes— this one was purely focused on robotics.
There were hundreds of suits. Most of them looked similar to the deceased superhero Steel's armour. And Lex admired his talent… despite Steel being a Superman fanatic. I wouldn't be surprised if he took inspiration from Steel's suits.
"What's this?"
My question made him grin.
"This Lena… this—" He paused and looked at me with complex emotions. "Is Superman's fall."
Lex was too far gone. He had fallen into an abyss of vengeance and suffering that he cannot escape from.
"A few suits of armour are not enough to take down Superman, Lex. Even Steel, who managed to mimic Superman's powers and abilities using his armour… could never replace Superman. And when the deciding battle came— he fell… and Superman still stands strong."
He laughed… he laughed at my statement but there was a hidden menace in his eyes.
"True." He agreed as he caressed one of the armour. "But while it has the same abilities and strength as Steel's armour, this is merely the cover… the true weapon lies somewhere else?"
"What do you mean?"
I know he is not stupid, but vengeance often clouds a person's judgement.
He walked towards one of the vaults that were placed to the right of the room. And with a smile on his face, he opened it.
"This is the real deal."
A massive glass filled with green liquid was kept inside the vault.
"What's that?"
The liquid was thick and glowing, it reminded me of the glitter goo that kids bought from carnivals.
Lex didn't answer instantly and slowly pushed a button that made the green goo flow out of the glass and go inside one of the suits.
And to my surprise, the suit of armour… woke up.
The eyelids opened and the eyes glowed bright green with green strips of light being visible from the crevices of the joints.
It looked around and examined Lex.
And once it finished scanning Lex— it spoke.
"Waiting for instructions."
It spoke in a mechanical voice that made me shudder.
"Get rid of that door for me." Lex ordered, pointing towards one of the titanium doors.
"Affirmative."
In an instant... the door vanished as a beam of laser vapourised it.
"This… my dear sister… Is Kryptonian Slayer." Lex laughed. "The Bane of Superman."
"Kryptonite..."
Maybe… just maybe, he might be able to overpower superman.
…
…
Nothing can escape the Bat's eyes.
Everything that happens in Gotham or Metropolis is always under his radar. And after his little 'conversation' with Void— he knew that he had to increase his radars.
And he was glad that he did.
"Are you sure about this, Batman?"
The bogeyman sighed and looked at the woman. "Yes, I am."
Diana frowned at his confirmation. While she was one of the earliest members of the League— she had the least knowledge about the world of heroes and villains. She was from Themyscira of the Paradise islands— a place that was separated from the realm of men ages ago.
But even with her limited knowledge, she knew about the severity of the situation.
"The League of Assassins was destroyed by Void but their leader, Ra's Al Ghul is still alive. And as far as I know him, I wouldn't be surprised even if he managed to create a nation within this time."
Batman knew what Ra's was capable of. Before Ra's sent Void into a frenzy… he was one of the only people that both he and Void respected— despite their morals being the polar opposites.
"So… what exactly happened that sent Ra's into hiding?" Diana asked. "I know that he had a fight with Void… but why did they fight?"
"It's a long story." Batman answered, scrolling through the information he had gathered.
"We have time."
"We don't."
Batman immediately denied, but he knew that his teammate was not going to give up that easily.
"Then make it quick."
Diana smirked and that irked Batman a little, but he was used to such troubles. And in the team, Diana was still one of the bearable ones. He knew that the worst one was easily Flash… but if he had to go out of his team and pick— the Young Justice and Titans had worse ones.
"Ra's was someone who had gone through the cruelty of this world and survived. He was kidnapped, beaten, sold… but despite all that he survived." Batman looked at Diana. "But rarely anyone can keep their kindness after going through all that— Ra's was not one of them."
Many would commit suicide or go insane if they went through a fraction of the torture that Ra's went through. But Ra's chose a path worse than death— the path of evil.
"He was consumed by darkness, but he was good at hiding it. He did many evil deeds and many knew about it— but none could do anything about it. And the heroes didn't go after him as no one could link the major crimes with him. The crimes that could be linked to him were minuscule in everyone's eyes. Yet he had built an entire organisation under everyone's nose and by the time people figured it out— The League of Assassins had become one of the greatest mercenary groups in the world."
Batman gave a quick summary of Ra's.
"Ra's is a master of traditional medicine and so he has been able to keep himself alive even after all these years." Batman looked at Diana. "He is over five hundred years old."
The revelation surprised Diana, but she remained quiet.
"But Ra's has always been a respectable warrior." He continued. "While he is a master of trickery, when it comes down to fair fights… He rarely used underhanded methods."
"So, what went wrong?" Diana asked, making Batman frown.
"Ra's… has been a genius at picking talented people and training them." Batman said, taking a little pause. "He had trained countless geniuses and one day… he spotted a talent that he wanted to train."
"And that person was…"
"Void." Batman finished Diana's sentence. "But Void didn't accept his proposal… and this made Ra's furious. He tried countless strategies to get Void under him… but everything failed."
"Where do you come in all these?" Diana asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Before Ra's became obsessed with Void, he had another student… that he wanted to make his heir." Batman continued. "A person whom he made to stay away from his plans involving Void."
"And that student was… you." Diana showed a sad smile. "That's enough Bruce… it must be difficult for you."
Bruce didn't listen and continued the story.
"I would have never agreed, but he made me swear to not interfere." He looked at Diana. "And that was before I became Batman— so it was a promise that I couldn't break even after becoming the Bat…" He frowned. 'And it was a promise made using ancient rituals. I couldn't have broken it even if I wanted to.'
Ra's was an expert of Alchemy, Poisons, Medicine and Martial Arts. Creating a ritual to bind contracts was just one of his countless talents.
"Ra's obsession with Void made him think of every possible way to get Void to join him." Batman clenched his fists. "And that obsession blinded him. He went and kidnapped Killer Croc… who was Void's closest friend."
Diana could guess what would have happened after that.
"Ra's' obsession made him blind… he underestimated Void and made the mistake of hurting his friend." Batman sighed.
"So what happened after that?" Diana asked, having a rough idea of how the story ended.
Batman looked at Diana. "The League of Assassins… The greatest mercenary association of this world ceased to exist after that." He sighed once again. "And that's what made Void truly famous. He had erased the greatest mercenary group on his own and vapourised the entire area where their base was located. For a long time, everyone thought that Ra's was dead… but he wasn't and now he is planning on something that might cause an uproar."
Void was a name that every old villain and hero knew. And Batman knew that it was only a little before the new generation would hear about him as well.
Diana looked at Batman and placed her hand over his shoulder. "You have us know… a team that you can count on. Even if Ra's tries something, we will stop him."
Bruce didn't say anything and gave her a nod. "I know."
'That only thing I am worried about is Void's involvement.'
