The streets of Metropolis were filled with these strange humanoid creatures in green armour. They breathed abnormal flames from their mouths and mostly used their extraordinary strength, speed and durability to their advantage. Shots from conventional weapons had no significant effect. Some of them held something resembling a plasma wand in their hands. People ran, screamed and hid in their homes. Some even jumped out of their cars in the middle of the road and ran as fast as they could. The attack was carefully planned and successfully carried out thanks to a high-tech "box" that had the ability to open a rift to another dimension. To the dimension of the planet Darkseid.
These aliens were not out to destroy humans. They took them away to an unknown destination. Only those who resisted were eliminated and torn apart on the spot by their powerful clawed hands. Amidst all the commotion, screams and panic in the middle of the road, a strange man walked calmly. He wore a black jacket with a raincoat, a black fedora hat, matching trousers and shoes. A sly smile played on his face, and the slits of his eyes only further concealed his true intentions.
"How noisy it is here," he said boredly, holding his hat with one hand. "Let's begin!" He raised his hand, lifting something into the air. "RISE!"
Around him, warriors in steel armour began to appear in a blue mist with a rim of flame. Beautiful red cloaks fluttered in the wind, and blue glowing eyes peered out from the darkness of their helmets, full of determination. The warriors and mages formed a neat square in four groups. Each now had their own scabbard, from which they drew their weapons as if by a single mechanism. Single-handed and two-handed swords glinted slightly in the sun.
"Show these vile creatures what you are capable of!
The team and several groups split up. Swiftly, sharply and mercilessly, the knights in the front rows cut the lizard-like monsters to pieces. The mages supported them with fireballs, turning the creatures to ash. The heroes acted as leaders and only occasionally intervened, leaving all the "easy" work to the nameless foot soldiers. Only Asta, the "Right Hand of the Empire," stood beside his "New King" and waited for his command.
"Let's go, Asta. We shouldn't waste time on such pathetic opponents," they said, walking slowly towards the one who had started all this.
Robin's group consisted of two dozen warriors. They were clearing the streets of the city and advancing deeper into it. At one point, Robin raised his fist and telepathically ordered everyone to disperse. A plasma shot could have seriously damaged their armour and rendered them incapable of fighting, but almost everyone reacted to the danger in time and managed to dodge. Only one of the soldiers chose to shield random victims with his body: a middle-aged woman with her son. The mother huddled around her son, forming a makeshift shield, while the boy, who did not fully understand what was happening, looked at his saviour with admiring eyes. Nearby, Robin landed in a single large leap. The silent contact lasted no more than three seconds, and, placing his hand on Robin's shoulder, he nodded briefly and signalled to everyone else to move on, deeper into the city.
"P-please, do whatever you want with me, but leave the child alone!
Empty blue eyes peered out from the darkness of the helmet, radiating disappointment and doom.
It was difficult for the nameless knight to connect with these people. After all, he had no way of communicating with them in their language, and he naively believed that his gesture would be interpreted as positive and that following him would be the best solution for them.
He didn't know why he had suddenly decided to help them. It was just that at a certain moment, he had seen a fragment of a memory. Only a faint echo of a woman and a child, and they were his... family? Yes, this warmth and closeness had undoubtedly once belonged to him. And even if these memories were useless and lost, he wanted to follow them, if only for a short time, to feel alive. To feel human.
He pointed his thumb behind him and made a square shape with his palms.
"W-what do you want from us?!
"He wants to help us, Mum!
If he could breathe a sigh of relief, he would have done so gladly. The boy understood his intentions much better than his frightened mother, so the knight decided to make a rather bold and dangerous gesture — he ruffled the boy's neatly combed hair and shook his head. As if to say, "Well done, that's exactly what I wanted to say."
"Stanley!
"It's okay, Mum. Can't you see he really wants to help us?
Her fear left her for a moment, but her caution and tension remained. This suited the knight just fine, and turning his back to them, he waved his armoured glove briefly, signalling that it was time for them to leave. With uncertain steps, the woman and her son followed him.
It was difficult to make their way unnoticed when the streets of the city were in such chaos. Fortunately, the loud battles attracted more attention than their small group. Although he intended to help them and ensure their safety, he did not understand the local structure of the city, and the inability to contact people made this task even more difficult. They moved slowly between the city's alleys. They tried to avoid open areas. At one point, he noticed a subway entrance surrounded by people forming a circle of defence. The only reason they hadn't been destroyed was that they were largely ignored, so he pointed to the spot and sprinted forward, followed by the others. But then, at some point, a small flock of twenty lizards noticed the small group and, as if on cue, rushed towards the people. Their attempts to defend themselves with firearms were futile, and the knight had to fight the creatures alone.
A lunge pierced the head of one, the shield took the blow of the next, pressing down with all his strength and swinging the shield upwards, a sweeping blow from bottom to top cut another creature in two, a third used a plasma spear and a plasma projectile that hit the shield, melting it and rendering it useless. Throwing down his shield, the knight grabs his sword with both hands and rushes at his enemies. A couple of projectiles leave impressive holes in his armour, but he doesn't care. He is determined to fulfil his duty. A swing of his cross cuts two of them in half, and a final lunge from a spin destroys the third. At one point, the lizards decided to attack the nameless warrior from all sides at once, but a sweeping blow in an arc gave them no chance to get close. Only one creature, apparently unwilling to go to hell, managed to grab his legs with its hands and tear them off his armour with a sharp movement, which he finished off with a final blow to the head.
The nameless man looked around and noticed that the last surviving creature, which had been waiting for the right moment all this time, was heading towards the very family he had accompanied and protected to this place. His body was too weak to reach them in time, so he leaned on his left arm, raised his right arm with his sword, took careful aim, and swung, throwing his sword. There was a piercing, unpleasant sound. The weapon struck the stranger's head with perfect accuracy, piercing it through.
"Mr. Knight!" the boy cried anxiously, running towards his saviour.
"Stanley! Come back to me! We need to find cover before they return!"
This time, the knight agreed with his mother's words and, raising his left hand in a "stop" gesture, pointed at his mother with the finger of his other hand.
"You want me to go with her? What about you?!"
He showed him his thumb, as if to say, "It's okay. Everything's fine."
The child's eyes betrayed him, but he forced a smile and said:
"Thank you, Mr. Knight! I will never forget you!
The words echoed with a pleasant warmth, warming the nameless boy's soul for the first time, where a cold desert had always reigned. The feeling was indescribably beautiful, unforgettable. But the new king's order could not be questioned. And so, quickly crawling over to the corpse, he pulled the sword out of the lizard and headed towards the deafening explosions.
Robin, the "Symbol of the Hunt," was perhaps the most... unlike his fellow spirits. Yes, at first he too was plunged into a pit of indifference and coldness, but when he was given a second chance, he accepted without hesitation, wanting to regain something long forgotten and lost. And now, fighting the invaders, he realised what it was he wanted back. "The thrill of the hunt." The only thing separating him from what he wanted was the role of commander, as silly as it sounded. It wasn't like Robin to get too attached to his victims. He just loved his job, what was wrong with that?
An arrow woven from his own soul took shape in his bow. Pulling back the string, Robin released the arrow, which split into dozens of copies and struck all its targets with astonishing accuracy.
Trask, "The Defender," after all that had happened to him, began to remember something inexplicably important that concerned them, "The Heroes." But it was Maria who was always at the forefront of his mind. Trusk would definitely always protect Maria. But he couldn't remember why or for what reason. It just seemed... right? And even despite the new king's order to split up and clear the city of the invaders, he deliberately planned his route so that they would meet in the end.
Maria, the "Holy Light," did not like violence and fighting. But she understood the necessity of this act to save people's lives, and so, using Holy Magic, Maria turned her squad into the most deadly and dangerous force. They were frighteningly strong in speed and power, and after their "Crusade," only monsters cut to pieces remained. However, this power came at a terrible price. Her special status as "Chosen by the Light" meant that once, in the past, while she was still alive, Maria had been chosen to wield this holy and pure power bestowed upon her by the Light Gods. And her status as "Rejected by the Light" meant that after she became undead, the Gods had practically turned their backs on her. Maria was cursed to beg for their forgiveness for the rest of her days. Every time she used her powers, it felt like her soul was being torn apart from within, but the ancient and terrible curse prevented her from leaving this world.
"Pain is nothing if it means protecting my comrades and these people."
Asta and I moved slowly, assessing the situation in the city. For some reason, important figures like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were late. While the latter two were understandable, why wasn't everyone's favourite hero in his own city? It was incomprehensible. I shrugged mentally. It would be more fun for Asta and me.
"Asta, this enemy is no pushover, so I ask... no, I order you not to hold back and give it your all," I nodded briefly and exhaled with relief. I hoped everything would be fine.
Was it difficult to find Darkseid? To be honest, not really. A two-metre-tall titan with asphalt-coloured skin, clad in powerful armour, flying in the middle of the city and periodically firing omega rays from his red eyes, which exuded boredom mixed with arrogance. Looking at his status, I was surprised to see that his strength and agility stats were around 800, while his wisdom and intelligence were around 300. The difference between him and me was monstrous, and Asta was only a third behind him in terms of stats.
Special abilities: "Pride," "Master of Hand-to-Hand Combat," "Manipulator," "God of His World," "Walking Avatar," "Creature That Went Against the Will of the Gods," "Savior/Destroyer."
He has a special status — "Pride." If Asta restrains himself because of Honour, then he restrains himself only because he does not consider it necessary to fight at full strength against bugs like us. We could play on that. We moved towards him, using a ghost step. With opponents like this, you have to make the right first impression. He hovered in the air and stopped shooting beams from his eyes. Outwardly, the titan showed no curiosity, but the very fact that I was not attacked immediately warmed my heart. When the distance between us was about five metres, I took off my hat and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, almighty Darkseid. May I ask about your visit to our world?
"Why should I tell a foolish mortal about my plans?
"Well, maybe because I live here? I mean, there's a reason for everything, right? I want to understand you better.
"To reap, to dominate, to enslave — that is who I am. I am your saviour. I want to show all of you mortals that you have been living wrong all this time. You don't feel anything, which is why you have piqued my curiosity. You're like an anomaly that, by some stupid mistake, is standing in front of me. If you kneel down right now and acknowledge me as your master, I'll spare your pathetic life.
Warning!
Attempt to manipulate the mind!
Failed!
I will not so easily succumb to the manipulation attempts of some worthless creature who thinks he is God. Only a third stronger than Asty, ha! I need much more impressive achievements, not empty words from some "Higher Being." Titan reminds me of the Nazis. The same fools who want absolute power over the whole world. The only difference is power. Darkseid has it. I demonstratively knelt down with a crooked smile and threw my dagger at him.
"Fool..." Darkseid hissed, releasing a huge stream of omega rays. The funny thing is that in those split seconds, I was able to see through the system that these rays had a mind of their own. That's why they were able to pursue their target by changing their trajectory. I disappeared from the line of fire and ended up behind him. I caught the dagger and stabbed him in the back. I noticed with slight annoyance that out of the five thousand health points he had, I had only taken away one hundred and fifty-six. What defence...
One of the beams suddenly changed its trajectory and headed back at me, but Asta took the attack on herself, lunged forward and closed the distance between her and Dark Side, striking him squarely in the jaw with her left fist. There was a loud crash. The air trembled with an invisible wave, and his face shifted only slightly to the side. Scarlet blood began to ooze from the corners of his lips. The beam hits me and I immediately turn into a pile of ash. Another distortion of space — the result of using false time erasure. Omega beams are a dangerous attack. But they can never harm me, because this attack has a mind of its own and is focused solely on eliminating its target. No enemy can do anything against this. I destroyed the concept of an aura, that is, my very presence. Instead of hiding my aura, it is better to get rid of it, otherwise high-ranking beings will be able to bypass me easily.
"Your master is dead, warrior. Perhaps you..." Asty's aura turned red, and her strength tripled. Berserk?! When did you learn that?!
The blue blade of the soul with fragments of a broken sword struck several blows in a split second, which the titan managed to block with his hands at the last moment, but the enormous recoil threw him into the nearest high-rise building. An unimaginably monstrous roar echoed throughout the city. I came out of stealth and, shrugging my shoulders, spread my arms wide.
"Sorry, Darkseid, but she's already taken. Go on! Let's wipe that smug look off his face!
As it turned out, we weren't the first to decide to fight back against Darkseid. Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Shazam, and Batman had teamed up to teach him a lesson. However, Darkseid was a tough guy, and even with numerical superiority, he was able to easily defeat the superheroes. Only Bats, realizing his uselessness against an enemy of such rank, tried to help by eliminating the ordinary lizard enemies, whose numbers did not decrease even with my help. Soup lands several blows to the titan's face, but in the next moment, Darkseid knocks the wind out of him with a blow to the jaw and, grabbing him by his long cloak, throws him away like a toy. Wonder Woman tries to inflict at least a couple of scratches with her double-edged sword, but the titan's armour successfully protects him from such attacks. A sharp blow to the solar plexus throws the superhero aside. I catch her in mid-air and, landing carefully, take off my hat and introduce myself.
"Nice to meet you, Diana. I've heard a lot about you. I'd like to continue our acquaintance, but, alas, I have 'business'," I say, pointing my thumb towards Darkseid.
Asta joins the fight. I can't let her have all the fun! Diving like a falling comet, her sword strikes the asphalt, leaving a spherical web of cracks. Darkseid grimaces and growls. Apparently, he didn't expect this from some knight. He knocked her sword out of her hand. A series of lightning-fast attacks began between them, and it was impossible to see anything but yellow flashes of sparks and the sound of blows. Being in stealth mode, my attacks were simply unfair due to the enemy's inability to detect me. Time after time, the armour was covered with cutting marks, and as soon as I appeared during a strike, I disappeared again, annoying him like a mosquito.
"Enough!" In a split second, his hands were covered with the familiar glow of omega rays, and I, already aware of what was about to happen, quickly gave the command to my partner.
"Asta, cover me!
The heroine covered me with her body, plunging her sword into the asphalt. The blast wave blinded me for a few seconds. When my vision returned, all I could see was Asta, beaten and still stubbornly trying to stand. He did a good job. Eight blocks were simply wiped off the face of the earth with a single attack. Now we were in the middle of some kind of lifeless wasteland.
"Well done, you did great," I said, picking up my hat from the asphalt, dusting it off, and putting it back on. I put my right hand on Asty's shoulder, gradually restoring her with the help of time scrolling. The smoke screen gave us a brief respite. Diana took advantage of this, coming up behind me.
"Who are you?
"Ah, forgive my rudeness. I addressed you without introducing myself," I said regretfully. "I'm Alex Ti. Keeper, and this is my partner, Asta. We've decided to kick this god's arrogant ass. My name is Dark Side.
"You know him?" she asked suspiciously, gripping the hilt of her sword tightly. Hey, why so suspicious? I'm fighting him!
"We met a couple of minutes ago. I asked him, 'Why are you destroying everything?', and he said, 'Because I'm evil'. That was the whole conversation," I shrugged and looked with satisfaction at Asta standing confidently in front of me, ready for battle.
"And someone like him just decided to talk?
"I think anyone with great power is capable of talking. Well, if they can't, then that makes them a 'dragon' that everyone wants to kill to become famous and a 'hero'. Of course, such heroes always run the risk of turning into a dragon after they are killed.
I would have liked to continue talking to her about philosophical topics, but, alas, the situation does not allow it. Otherwise, I would have learned more. The funny thing is that her power, and that of Sups, was somewhere on par with Darkseid, but even the aforementioned trio have question marks about the true meaning of their characteristics. The characteristics I saw were for the "current" moment. They're holding back, aren't they? Everyone wants to have the whole city, right? After all, Diana and Clark had no idea of their true power. Although, Diana may have, but Clark definitely doesn't. And it's strange that he didn't react to my advances towards her. Has he already started a relationship with Lois Lane? I'm thinking about something completely different.
Darkseid flew out of the half-destroyed building at tremendous speed, grabbing Astya, who stood in his way, by the helmet with one hand in a sharp lunge, ramming her into the houses and simultaneously striking her armour fiercely, leaving impressive dents and damage. The blow from the half-destroyed sword helped throw Darkseid aside. Two pairs of familiar beams once again sought to turn my loyal partner into ashes, but a barrier of light absorbed them. Troops of my soldiers and mages emerged one after another from the dark alleys of the city and rushed towards him.
Robin, emerging from invisibility, found himself in the air directly above Darkseid and fired his spirit arrow. Another deadly beam dispelled the arrow as if it were an illusory ghostly mist. At one point, the titan decided to get rid of my army with his rays alone. Trask successfully shielded Maria from the attack with his massive shield, but the rest, unfortunately, could not boast of such an achievement and were swept away by a powerful stream of his deadly rays. Something had to be done about them. About his eyes. Maybe try to gouge them out?
"Distract him!" I call out to the future Justice League team and, already fading into invisibility, add quietly, "Please."
Despite Hell Jordan deliberately sabotaging the squad and trying to show off how cool he really was, Wonder Woman managed to knock some sense into him with a little lecture about how this wasn't a game, but their lives and the lives of the people of this city were at stake. It worked, and now they were a well-coordinated team, beating Darkseid like a real raid boss. The Flash created a tornado that lifted him slightly into the air. Shazam gave the titan shock therapy with his white lightning bolts, while Wonder Woman wrapped her lasso around his throat, literally straddled him, and tried to stab him with her sword. Superman simply beat him with his fists. I ordered my troops not to interfere in the current situation — they would only hinder the coordinated work of these heroes. I was just waiting for the right moment to strike, because despite all our efforts, Darkseid's health bar wasn't really going down. Yes, he was taking damage, but after a while he would simply heal and his health would return to full. So was it all thanks to his suit, or was he simply immortal?
The next moment, Victor appeared — a newly minted hero nicknamed "Cyborg" — who was able to reprogram the portals to send the creatures back to Darkseid's dimension. Almost all of the lizard-like monsters were sucked back into the singularity of the orange and white portal. Only the titan remained. Our team prepared to ram him into the teleportation funnel, but then, apparently realising that our plan wasn't particularly clever, Darkseid decided to use his trump card: a bomb made of omega rays. The heroes stepped back, realising the danger of this move, and I knew that there would be no better moment to attack.
"You're repeating yourself...
Maria finished reading the prayer that gave us an incredible boost. A single arrow fired by Robin split into two dozen, piercing the titan through and through. Now he vaguely resembled a pincushion. The arrows were not meant to inflict damage, but to restrain his movements. Asta finds himself close to Dark Side and pierces his shoulder with his sword; the blade gets stuck somewhere inside and breaks his concentration. The cry, full of pain and hatred, was like music to my ears. Asta rams him towards the portal with all his might. And already almost at the entrance, he strikes the titan in the chest with his famous "Spartan" blow. He manages to grab her arm while already halfway through the portal. You want to take with you the one who essentially made you bleed to death, huh, Darkseid?! No way!
I immediately find myself next to them and with a light flick of my dagger, I cut off Asta's arm. Our Raid Boss is finally defeated. Well, relatively speaking. It would have been more logical to kill him. How many victims are there among the local population? Several thousand? And around the world? Millions? And for what? For a dubious victory. That's exactly why I'll never be able to get used to being a hero in this world. Someone has to take responsibility for what others are incapable of, and yes, I'm talking about you, Batman. I can feel your searching and fearful gaze.
"Asta, Robin, Trusk, Maria and... all of you. I couldn't have done it without you, thank you," I say mentally to everyone and with a slight gesture send them back to their space.
"Well, I think that's him. For now..." I say to myself and take a black hat out of my inventory, which I decided to remove after all, fearing for its integrity.
"Why are you all so gloomy? Isn't the defeat of some 'god' from the dark realm a reason to rejoice?
"The damage done to ordinary people is extremely... significant," said Bats, who had been silent until now.
"How boring you are. He could have destroyed the planet, turned everything into ashes! But we ruined all his plans.
"Next time he'll be more careful...
Wow! Strange to hear those words from Batman. Could it be that he's also unhappy that we didn't finish off Darkseid together? Probably. You never cease to amaze me, Bruce.
"Okay, think of something interesting. Call me," I waved my hand and, turning my back on them, headed for the nearest hotel.
"Wait! You have to answer my questions!
It's nice when Wonder Woman herself addresses you. Apparently, I was some kind of unknown anomaly that she wanted to study under a microscope. Funny... I wouldn't mind chatting either, but there's no need to rush and do what someone else wants. Right, an Amazon who didn't give a damn about public opinion on her clothing and who had only just begun to understand the world. I just want to understand whether it's worth taking on such a challenge as trying to play with a woman who has centuries/millennia of life experience behind her. Won't I just be a boy to her? Who else will she play with, that's the question. But that only adds to the excitement! An opponent worthy of my attention! It sounds strange considering that we are not enemies, but as future... partners, perhaps. Who knows? I can't see into the future yet.
"Hmm, should I?" I turn slightly towards her, holding my hat against the gust of wind. "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to share my secrets with a stranger," I say, assessing her with a glance, a little resigned and sad. "Okay, with very attractive strangers," I would bet anything that my compliment was well received and she blushed slightly. Damn it! How cute! Okay, the main thing is not to give myself away and change the subject quickly. "Go on! Go play with Clark. He's super-duper at everything."
Clark raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Hey, I actually want to live a normal life. Don't get me involved in this.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, live a normal double life. I wonder if any of the heroes find it convenient to live that way, or if they all prefer to live in constant tension?
"You can't leave now," Batman interjected again. "The public needs to know about us and our heroic deeds. We also need to form a group of heroes who will prevent this from happening again.
"Ha ha, you've got it all planned out, haven't you? Never mind. Fine, I'll play by your rules for now. Not because you asked me to, but because it's in my best interest. I'll do almost anything you want, except one thing. I will not be a member of your team of heroes. Never, ever. Is that clear?"
"Quite clear.
It seems like I was heard and even expected such a response.
"Since I've been detained as an important figure in this event, it seems I have no choice but to give you some attention, Diana Prince.
"How do you know my name?..
"I know a lot..." I draw out the vowels and smile mysteriously, pointing my index finger in front of my face. "Let's do this: after all this is sorted out, it'll be just you and me. I'll choose the place. Deal?" And to seal the deal, I hold out my hand.
"Deal," Wonder Woman says with her "kindest" smile, squeezing my hand until it cracks. My smile cracks a little. It seems she doesn't particularly like the fact that I hold all the cards.
It sounds very easy, of course. After all the negotiations. Except that the "negotiations" weren't exactly... pleasant. The government was ready to issue an order requiring all heroes who participated in the defence of Earth to register and become official defenders of their region. Terrible. Considering that this kind of registration would turn the heroes' lives into a living hell. Our entire group was categorically against the idea. I honestly didn't care. Such a system would only cause more problems around the world. The government doesn't understand that this would create a kind of civil war among the heroes and sow the chaos that villains need to carry out their evil deeds. The only valid reason why this request was rejected was that the people actively supported the heroes' decision. When asked by the Prime Minister of Security what would happen if this happened again, Batman replied that he would create a group of heroes who would successfully counter such incidents, minimising casualties among the local population. The name of this organisation, as you might guess, is the Justice League. Everyone who joined it was an independent figure in the defence of various global situations. That is, no public and no government. In response to such blatant arrogance, the "tower" exploded with angry comments directed at Batman. It was "insane," "unreliable," and "stupid." Admittedly, it was amusing to watch him ask what percentage of the military would be able to successfully repel this invasion.
"I'll tell you: zero point zero zero zero percent. And this pathetic figure was revealed during a single attack on the White House. The anti-aircraft artillery was able to repel a small group. You can criticise me and my plans as much as you like, but you cannot ignore the facts. We are needed. If not, I will calmly listen to your proposals. That is all.Strong words. I even liked them. As a result of this boring circus, we were awarded the title of "Defenders of the Earth," and our Black Knight was given the opportunity to open his own club of anonymous saviours of the world. Now we were some kind of living symbols of security, walking around the city with smiles on our faces, instilling confidence in the future. I even decided to use my time-rewinding ability to restore buildings along the way. It took a lot of energy, but their faces, filled with kindness, admiration and adoration, made me feel warm inside.
"You've changed," Bruce says curtly, noticing my manipulations. "But I haven't forgotten about Black Mask.
"Do you want to try to arrest me and put me in jail in front of all these people?" I say rudely from behind him. Although, I think he's already used to it.
"And I also believe that people are capable of changing and redeeming themselves.
Relationship with Batman/Bruce Wayne — -200. Suspicion.
Everyone suddenly had things to do. Superman disappeared on "business." The Green Lantern was called away by the "Guardians." Shazam had school and teenage problems. The government wanted to take the "Cyborg" apart and study him under a microscope, but Flash intervened in time and warned them that it would be extremely unfortunate.The government wanted to take Cyborg apart and study him under a microscope, but Flash intervened in time and warned them that it would be a very bad idea. And judging by everything, Victor's body lives its own life and reacts to danger the same way animals do, i.e., by destroying it on the spot. It's a good thing that Flash had some pretty good skills in psychology with abnormal types with superpowers and was able to calm down our iron friend in time, who had already formed some kind of ultrasonic death ray out of his hand. In the end, only Batman, Wonder Woman and I were left.
"Just don't take me to church. And don't think that I'm doing all this for the greater good. I'm a fickle creature and only do what is necessary to achieve my goals, so consider me your 'partner' for now, nothing more. I always try to maintain a partnership. You want something from me, and I want something from you. That's all," I smile and finish with another building.
"And Diana?
"That's our business. I strongly advise you not to get involved. It would be extremely rude of you. You'll ruin the whole romantic atmosphere.
"You... and her? Seriously?
"That sounds awful! Haven't you ever thought about spending some personal time with a nice girl? Oh, right, sorry, you're married to Gotham. It takes up all your time and money. Just like a wife. Please forgive me. It's my fault," I say with a respectful bow. "Although you did manage to screw up in some ways," I whisper with a slight smirk, pretending he didn't hear me. I turn my back and start walking towards Wonder Woman.
"I'm sure I kept you waiting. Let's put it this way: I don't want some kind of cliché date, but I want to spend tomorrow in a special way. It's not every day you get to get close to such a famous person.
"A date?! I wasn't talking about a date, I just want to...
"Yes, yes, to talk, but when a man and a woman talk about personal things, it starts to feel a lot like a date. That's why I put it that way. I'll make this day special. You'll see!
Something romantic is awakening in me. It must be because I want to achieve something that no one else in the world has ever done before. To make Wonder Woman a woman. It will be a difficult challenge, but I will accept it!
***
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