CHAPTER 202

"Oh, you're home." Jason mentioned, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he made way to the fridge.

"Yeah, a night of fun and pleasure turned into something straight out of a terribly written horror movie." I replied, telekinetically calling the bottle of milk from the fridge and into my hand as I poured it into my bowl of cereal.

"That's a lot of cereal, more than you normally have for breakfast." Jason said, taking note of my gluttonous appetite that morning.

"Yeah, am starved. I didn't get the chance to eat anything all through yesterday."

Looking at me with a look of curiosity in his eyes, he asked. "I know what you do with your time is none of my business but… What exactly were you up to, all through yesterday and the night before?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just committed a few massacres, stopped a ritual, decapitated an immortal occult leader, dominated an association which controls the affairs of the world from the shadows as they see fit. Other than that, it was just an unpleasant get away for my girlfriend and I." Tom said, summarizing his past two days as he shrugged it off like it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Huhh…. Right." Jason replied, unsure of what to say as he continued to make his sandwich.

"Hey nutcase, hey screwball, good to see you're both doing good." Leo greeted them, waltzing into the dinning area and taking a bite from Jason's sandwich.

"Hey…!" Jason called out, swiping back his sandwich before pouring himself a glass of orange juice.

"Look who decided to finally show up." I mumbled with a mouth full of cereal. "You probably shouldn't be chewing with your mouth full." Jason advised. "Where have you been since Darkseid attacked?" He questioned.

"Swimming in a lot of Benjamin's, kid." Leo replied with a satisfied look on his face.

"Just out of curiosity, which of us is screwball?" I asked Leo, squinting my eyes to dramatically portray my curiosity but got a simultaneous look that says, "Really…" From both of them in return.

"Good morning everyone. I'm afraid this morning's breaking news involves you Master Tom." Gwen greeted and informed.

"What is it about me now?" I rhetorically asked. "Put it on." I commanded and we all walked over to the living room.

The news entailed a footage of Superman and Lex Luthor having a good time at Lex's office as Lex bragged about his plan to overthrow the world government.

This was sure to send the people into a frenzy as it was made known to the world that Superman had Lex Luthor's back even though he was aware of his plans. They would have probably turned a blind eye and convinced themselves that he was unaware of Luthor's plans when he was supporting him but now it was too late.

As the news went on, a footage of Ace fighting Darkseid head on without flinching as he dominated the fight, was also aired.

"Fuck!" Jason exclaimed, knowing that the world was about to change in some massive way.

"There's supposed to be an award ceremony for the league heroes who fought off Darkseid and his minions, but this video coming to light would absolutely bruise their pride.

The news forecast ended with a disturbing question phrased to make the citizens ponder. "Are the heroes involved with Lex Luthor and Darkseid? Are they really not what we thought they were? And, is Ace the Tyrant just a misunderstood hero, but tagged as a villain? Stay toned for more updates."

"Damn, now the heroes got to find a way to clean up their mess." I commented before switching on the gaming console as I tossed a controller at Leo, I needed to unwind and Jason probably has his mind occupied with how things are turning out.

….

"Mother, I know he was strong and all but we shouldn't have let him walk all over us the way he did." Damian said, pissed at Tom for what he did as he paced from one end to the other of the dimly lit room. "We should get our revenge on him." He said with a sudden pause from his pacing around.

"I know you are angry, I am too. But it would be foolish of us to go seeking revenge, your grandpa brought this upon himself when he poked a wild beast with a short stick." Talia replied as she prepared for the immediate funeral ceremony for her father.

"I know he's one powerful dude, but do we just sit back and let him proclaim leadership over the League?" He asked.

"We are lucky he let me assume my position as Ra's al Ghul, he could have easily wiped us out but left the League of Assassins to continue to operate as it does. He probably knew how the important work the League does in the shadows in holding the world together." Talia stated, that was the only logical reason she could think of that would make Tom spare the League rather than kill her for her betrayal, then wipe the entire base that night.

She was just glad he left them alive, rather than pour down his wrath upon them all. "You aren't going to start take orders from him right?" Damian asked.

"Not particularly, I don't think he would contact the league unless he's in need of our services." She said. "Don't think too much on that, turn all that anger to fuel during your training sections. It could help you grow stronger, if used correctly that is." She said, proceeding with the funeral rites of the recently deceased Ra's.

…

[Back at the League's Watchtower]

The tower was still undergoing repairs when the members of the Justice League met up for a meeting on how to go forward from there, since they've mostly recovered from their injuries.

"There's still been no updates on Lex Luthor's whereabouts, he somehow managed to go completely off the grid like he disappeared off the face of the earth" Green Lantern informed.

"Maybe he gave up." The Flash jokingly chimed in. "He probably got tired of failing and just went to kick it off at a some private island somewhere at the sea shore." He added with an humorous air.

"He sure is doing a good job laying low." Green Lantern said.

"No way he's just giving up, you don't know Lex like I do." Superman said, anger and shame surfacing within.

"We know he used you." Batman said, walking closer to Superman as he spoke. "Humiliated you, brainwashed you. Run you up like a tin soldier, and turned you loose against earth." Coming up close into Superman's personal space, he added with a stoic expression beneath his cowl. "Cry me a river."

"It is better we hold a press conference to address the people and the media, or else this uproar would make the people lose their faith in us." Superman replied, not letting what Batman said get under his skin because all he did was rip off the bandage.

"We need to earn the people's trust so all these could be swept under the rug without heavy consequences." Green Arrow said, stroking his beard as he spoke.

"Anything regarding that Tyrant dude?" Flash asked Cyborg who was quietly watching them as they spoke their minds. "Nothing yet, he completely went off the grid after the fight with Darkseid." He replied.

"He was a big help to us, and he was clearly stronger than we anticipated." Wonder Woman said, her lost arm had been recovered, thanks to futuristic tech.

"We are still in the process of mourning one of our own who fell in battle, now we have to deal with this too." Aquaman pointed out.

"If only we could recruit Ace, he could be a valuable addition to us as a superhero rather than a roaming menace." Martian Manhunt said.

"Then we could explain to the media that Superman was brainwashed by Lex Luthor and forced to do his bidding, after all the massive transmission he did to everyone around the world should be enough proof of that." Batman suggested.

"That is actually a valid point of judgment in the matter." Green Lantern stated, agreeing to the idea of holding a press conference to resolve the issue.

"Is there anyway we could persuade him into becoming one of us? I don't agree with him taking lives but I kinda like his style, reminds me of myself when I started off as a vigilante… Except without powers and with a purpose." Green Arrow mentioned.

"We can't just throw what he's done under the rug." Wonder Woman said, looking towards Batman and Superman for their opinions.

"It's an obvious no." Batman clarified.

"We can't possibly look past his history so far and offer him a seat amongst us." Superman clearly stated his opinion, his tone carrying a subtle hint of hostility.

"Relax guys, we just need to address the public, answer a few questions here and there and all these would be sorted out." Flash said, reversing the topic back to the actual matter on ground, rather than the pointless argument Superman was about to bring up.

"Where did those videos even come from?" Martin Manhunt asked.

"Probably from The Calculator, he and I were the only outsiders that were involved with Lex's operation." Superman informed them.

"That's a pretty huge possibility." Cyborg said.

"We'll deal with the media, we just have to do everything we can to avoid further quarries until this completely blows by." Batman said, upholding his cold and stoic demeanor.

=======

Want more chapters? Kindly visit my patreon to read ahead. 👇

patre*on.com/Maverick_DaSupreme