Lois's mind raced.' Tobi… here, in front of me. What does he want from me? And what will he do if he doesn't get it?'
"What do you want from me?" Lois asked, her voice tight.
"Relax, Miss Lane," Max's clone said, leaning back slightly. "I mean you no harm, provided you cooperate and answer a few questions for me."
"And what if I refuse?" Lois asked, her fingers tightening around her bag.
"Well… let's just leave what would happen to your imagination," he replied, his expression darkening. "But I can promise you—it wouldn't be pleasant."
Lois swallowed hard. She knew that if she didn't comply, her chances of leaving the place alive were slim. With a sigh, she steadied herself. "What do you want to know?" she asked, slowly pulling her phone from her bag under the table and placing a call to Clark on speed dial.
"Well," Max's clone began, "you recently led the disclosure of shocking news involving footage of me during my… recent endeavors. I want to know how you came into possession of it."
Lois hesitated for a fraction of a second before replying, "We received it from an anonymous source. She didn't reveal who she was."
Max's clone's eyes narrowed. "She?"
Lois cursed silently. She realized she had panicked and let slip crucial information. The anonymous tipster had a feminine voice—there was no other way. "Yes… she. That's all I know, Tobi. Now, can I leave?"
For a moment, the restaurant seemed to grow quieter. Max's clone didn't answer, his gaze fixed on her with an intensity that made Lois's stomach knot.
HALL OF JUSTICE
Cyborg, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Superman were seated around a table for a debriefing on the recent meta-gang takedown. Superman sat with his arms crossed, listening intently as Batman outlined the operation's successes and areas for improvement.
Suddenly, Superman's communicator buzzed, and a familiar name flashed on the screen: Lois Lane.
"I need to take this," Superman said, standing abruptly.
"Clark, it can wait," Batman began, narrowing his eyes.
"No, it seems important," Superman replied, already tapping the communicator.
There was no immediate response. Then, faintly, he heard Lois's voice:
"Yes, that's all I know, Tobi. Now can I leave?"
Clark froze mid-step, his heart skipping a beat. Lois… is with… Max? His mind raced through countless possibilities, none of them comforting.
He turned sharply. "Cyborg! Track Lois's phone—now! It's urgent!"
"What? Why?" Cyborg asked, confused.
"It's Max. I think he's taken her… hostage," Superman replied, his jaw tightening.
"On it," Cyborg said, fingers flying across his wrist interface.
"What does he want with her?" Wonder Woman asked, her brow furrowed.
"I don't know," Superman admitted. "But we have to stop him."
"We're coming with you," Batman said, standing, his expression grim.
"Found her," Cyborg announced after a few tense seconds. "She's on the east side of Metropolis, at Alberto's Restaurant."
Superman didn't waste another second. With a powerful burst of flight, he tore through the Hall of Justice roof with a sonic boom, heading toward Metropolis. Wonder Woman and Cyborg followed close behind. Batman remained, attempting to reach out to Barry and Shazam, while Green Lantern, still recovering from previous injuries, stayed behind.
Back at the restaurant
Max's clone hummed thoughtfully as he digested the new information. If Lois wasn't lying about the gender of the informant, it narrowed the possibilities to one—Mercy Graves. She was the only one who knew he was going to raid Belle Reve. It couldn't have been Luthor; he was out of commission at the time. Waller was also ruled out, and Max hadn't interacted with any other major villains in the DC universe, so it would be strange for them to have an agenda against him. Still, the possibilities weren't entirely closed he would have to put zetsu on a test which will be an infiltration mission.
He paused, sensing a familiar presence: a flying thunder god mark approaching. It couldn't be his real body—this person had no chakra. That meant it had to be a member of the Justice League; he had already marked them all during their previous battle.
"It seems I've overstayed my welcome," Max clone murmured, standing and sliding behind Lois, who remained seated, frozen.
"That was a very stupid move, Miss Lane," he said softly, his voice tinged with amusement. "But since I am quite fond of you, I'll let it slide… this time. But Next time we meet should you attempt to do something like that again, your head will roll on the ground before you even touch your phone."
Lois's eyes widened as realization struck—Max had noticed.
"And you'd better not be lying to me," he continued, patting her shoulder, "because I will visit you again, and I promise we won't be talking when that happens."
"Oh, how rude of me to invite you to a restaurant and not even get you a drink," Max said, waving to a waiter who appeared immediately.
"Please, get this lady your finest whiskey. It should calm her nerves before her heart leaps out of her chest," he added, sliding a thick stack of bills into the waiter's hands. Then, without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out, whistling a calm, almost cheerful tune. Lois sat frozen, utterly terrified, while the confused waiter blinked in disbelief.
A sonic boom split the air, and a second later, Superman landed on the street with a thunderous bang, startling the crowd. He strode purposefully toward the restaurant, scanning for any sign of Lois. For a fleeting moment, his gaze met Max clone's, still disguised, and the green-haired man's eyes flickered briefly into Sharingan before returning to normal. Superman, caught up in the urgency of the situation, didn't notice the subtle display and continued toward the restaurant, tracking Lois's phone.
By the time he realized what he had seen, Max clone was already gone, vanished into the city streets like a ghost.
Realising that max was gone he burst into the restaurant, scanning the crowd. His eyes landed on Lois sitting alone in the corner, a bottle of wine before her. He wove through the tables, drawing a few curious stares as he approached, and gently tapped her shoulder.
"Lois, are you okay?" he asked.
Lois jerked out of her daze and glared at him. "Geez! You scared me. I thought it was him again." She grabbed the bottle and poured herself a glass.
Superman's brow furrowed. "It was… Max, wasn't it?"
"Who's Max?" Lois asked, taking a tentative sip.
"It's Tobi's real name… Pietro. Anyway," Superman continued, his voice tense, "what did he want? Did he harm you?"
Lois shook her head. "No, I'm fine. He didn't do anything… physically. But we should probably talk somewhere more private."
Clark's gaze swept the room. Everyone had stopped mid-action, staring at them. Some were even pulling out phones, snapping pictures.
"Agreed," he said. "Let's get somewhere we won't be watched.
Back at the park
Talia sat down beside Max with the same composed calm she always carried. "Oh," she said, "you know me."
Max shrugged one shoulder. "Of course I do. I know a lot of things."
She tilted her head. "Well, I suppose that makes things easier."
"It depends what you're referring to." He cut in, impatient. "Now stop wasting my time and say what you came to say."
Talia's face remained unreadable. "Very well. My father—Ra's al Ghul—has a proposition for you."
"Go on." Max watched her closely.
"He wishes for you to join us. The League of Assassins. To bring your power and vision into alignment with ours. Alone, you may be formidable, but with us you could shape the world."
Max's eyes were cold. "And why would I do that? What do I gain?"
"Because power without direction leads to corruption," Talia replied evenly. "You've already proven not even the heroes can stop you. You killed a government agent—an act the world will not let stand. Sooner or later governments, nations, and costumed champions will band together to take you down. They may already be planning it."
She paused when Max said nothing, then pushed on. "With the League, you wouldn't be a target—you'd be the spearhead that reshapes the world. Our goal is order: a world cleansed of the corruption and decay that you are fighting against. My father is even prepared to make you the leader of the assassins, in time."
End of chapter