Chapter 6: It was Na-

[Third Person's Point of View] 

Albedo is short and obese, with short brown hair and brown eyes. He usually wears a light vest and a black t-shirt with emoticons on it when he is not at work but right now he wears a white lab coat with a long-sleeved blue T-shirt and brown pants and he is in custody.

He was scared not because he was in custody but because of who was in front of him. The last man most criminals sane and insane would want to see in this situation, a man who has made many adults pisses and shit their pants with nothing but a glare, Albedo is about to join their ranks.

"Talk."

Batman speaks after a five-minute worth of silence. This had been done on purpose. Batman was an expert in all forms of combat, science, torture, and much more. He already pegged Albedo as an Egotistical and cowardly villain.

He had done his investigation on A.I.M as soon as it entered his radar. According to his investigation and profiling, Albedo was no doubt a genius among geniuses who was on part with the greatest mind on the planet that was unfortunately overshadowed by Nathaniel Hargreeves.

The frustration of being constantly outdone and compared to someone who earned the official nickname of "The First Thinker" caused Albedo to build resentment towards Nathaniel. Still, cowardly by nature, he directed that resentment toward those below him in A.I.M whenever he had the chance.

The list would be enormous seen as he is- no, he was the second leading scientist in A.I.M, but surprisingly despite Nathaniel's reclusive habits, he seems to be aware of everything that happened in A.I.M. This prevented Albedo from abusing his authority too much.

To this day, it is still unknown to Batman but Albedo is terrified of Nathaniel. It was the same for most of the four other leading scientists of A.I.M.

He could not find the reason why that was the case much to his annoyance but what he wanted to know most was what compelled Albedo, the most cowardly of the leading Scientist to steal from Nathaniel. He did not remove the possibility that everything was staged but he was going to get to the bottom of this.

"I-I-I-"

Batman had overestimated Albedo's nerve. He clarified his order by giving two questions.

"What is that weapon that you used against Superman? What are A.I.M's intentions for that Weapon?"

Albedo trembled with each other Batman spoke with his deep voice. He took a quick breath before speaking.

"T-The weapon is a prototype of the project called Nimrod, a highly advanced robot built solely by Nathaniel. Supposedly it is able to reconfigure systems and itself to defeat its opponents but I am not sure if that is the case since it is still a prototype. The complete version is a mass production of the improved prototype.

I swear I don't know Nathaniel's full intentions, he built it on his own and only said that it would replace the Justice League if they ever got defeated. He was planning on explaining more about it next week but I stole it after I learned its location."

Hearing this, Batman adds on.

"Why did you steal that weapon? You attacked Superman almost as if you knew that most of the League were busy, who ordered you to attack Superman?"

"That's because Na-"

*BOOM*

As he answered Batman's question, Albedo exploded into a pile of blood much to the horror of Superman who had rushed in to protect Batman from the blast. He succeeded but after seeing the remains of Albedo, he became furious and was about to fly straight to A.I.M.

"Superman, Stand down."

Batman said as he went to inspect the remains of Albedo.

"Why Batman? This practically screams Nathaniel did it!"

Superman retorts.

"Exactly, it is so obvious that even an idiot could see that Nathaniel Hargreeves did it."

Batman agrees.

"So why?"

Superman yells.

"Because everything points to the fact that Nathaniel did it, even to the point of reaching that conclusion by barely thinking about it. This leads me to think that he is being framed."

Batman says as he examines part of Albedo's brain.

"Framed?"

Superman calms down thinking about it and agrees that it is a plausible outcome.

"Whoever killed him, activated a sort of self-destruct mechanism that made Albedo's death look abrupt but thinking about it, they most likely have been able to listen to the conversation which would explain how Albedo died at the right moment."

Batman says as he examines Albedo's blown torso.

"Right moment?"

Superman comments.

"Yes, right after giving us enough info to be wary of A.I.M but not enough for evidence of a third party at play."

Batman finishes his examination.

"Either way, it leads to A.I.M, right?"

Superman says.

"Yes, but we can't act rashly for now. A.I.M is akin to the golden goose in every country that is part of the U.N as well as its diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Atlantis. Most would not respond well to the Justice League attacking it without clear and concrete proof of crimes committed."

Batman explains as he walks away before Superman sighs and flies away. Batman noticed that Superman was more reactive than usual as his friend would usually be enraged but calm in such a similar situation. He decided to chalk it up to Superman still being in a flight-or-fight state due to the battle that happened less than twenty-four hours ago.

-Batcave-

Batman is currently typing on a keypad facing a large computer screen. This is the Bat computer, one of the best computers on the planet which boasts itself to have the best processing power that the league knows. Batman is currently updating his profile on the six Leading Scientists of A.I.M.

{6 & 5. The Mauler Twins: The original, whichever one was, possibly a being of alien origins, was a brilliant scientist who created a cloning machine and tried it out on himself. This produced his clone that thought he himself was the original.

Most if not all of their actions seem to be based on their desire to prove which one is the original. They were defeated by various League members multiple times but were granted their freedom, through presidential pardon, on the condition of joining A.I.M which would allow them to further their research.

Ever since they joined A.I.M, they have yet to commit any crime outside of speeding past a red light or indecent exposure. Each is a genius in the fields of biology, especially genetics, mnemonics, and cloning, as well as engineering.

4. Professor Thomas Oscar Morrow: Due to his Robotic Engineering skills, T.O. Morrow is the world's foremost authority on robotics. He was a former enemy of the Justice Society of America, he works for A.I.M under the alias of Tony Stark. The method as to how to regain his youth is still unclear but investigation shows that he has yet to commit any crime since joining A.I.M.

3. Rudolph "Rudy" Conners: Rudolph Conners is one of the most mentally intelligent and adaptable men on planet Earth. He is an expert in the field of robotics, having developed numerous types of robots and machines that help A.I.M during their humanitarian missions. 

Not much is known about his past before joining A.I.M. My still ongoing investigation in that regard has yet to turn any concrete proof but I suspect that his true identity is that of a former Meta-human U.S. Government test subject codename Robot.

His Metahuman gene caused him to have enhanced intelligence at the cost of a disembodied brain and severe deformity which prevented him from living in our Earth's atmosphere without risking death.

It is still unclear how he managed to change his appearance by modifying his body but I suspect that it was the work of Nathaniel Hargreeves since out of A.I.M leading scientists, he is the most loyal towards Nathaniel Hargreeves.

Observations have shown that he possesses a strong sense of justice that could be used against Nathaniel were the latter to be revealed as a threat-}

After a quick review, he arrived at the profile he wanted to change.

{2. Albedo Griffith: Dead}

Batman noted that although he wanted to get to the bottom of this, he could not investigate A.I.M directly as it was protected. In fact, the U.N. liaison to the League had informed the Justice League to stay away from A.I.M just a few hours after Nathaniel retrieved the weapon designated as Nimrod.

'Nathaniel Hargreeves is untouchable to all League members without concrete proof ever since A.I.M solved the Ocean pollution problem and as what I can see now was a calculated result, improved the surface's relation with Atlantis. 

He freely gave the technology to Atlantis which earned him the favor of the sunken Kingdom. This led to A.I.M being proclaimed as friend of Atlantis by none other than Aquaman himself. From my latest inquiry into Aquaman, he is still strongly loved by the people of Atlantis.

I regret not having kept my suspicion of A.I.M during that time. It only resurfaced when Nathaniel added three criminals as leading scientists. This had received controversial opinions from the public but the results spoke for themselves.

I could attempt to infiltrate A.I.M but after my previous failure, Nathaniel coerced the U.N., and Batman is no longer allowed to set foot on any of the top ten Floors or he would be viewed as going against the U.N. treaty. Clearly a childish but tactical taunt from Nathaniel Hargreeves.'

Batman thought wracking his brain at the last words of Albedo.

'That's because Na-'

What could Na- have meant other than Nathaniel? He thought but he could not think of a plausible answer. Sadly, Batman had overlooked one crucial detail, that this whole attack's goal could have been something other than framing Nathaniel, it could have been a distraction or... a misdirection.

---

In a mysteriously deem lighted room, an obese man stands up. He is dressed impeccably, wearing an expensive white suit with a long matching overcoat, white gloves, glasses, and a black tie with a red gem on it.

By his side were a few individuals who were standing at attention while he was sitting and in front of him was an army of men dressed in World War Two German uniforms. He looks at them before speaking.

"Gentlemen, Operation: Misdirecting fat pig with a fragile und enormous ego is a resounding success. Superman is now exactly how we need them to be, so we can move forward with our little... "surprise" for Vunder Fräulein.

However, before we begin our next phase, I would like to take some time to address a certain rumor floating around the fleet. Some of you have come to believe that I like war. I wish to dash these rumors. I do not like war. I… LOVE war.

Through my life, I have discovered so many forms of war. You get up in the morning, you get into your shitty car, und you see a rich CEO who works half as hard as you do drive down the street in his Porsche… Class war.

You make it to work, und you find out that the annual drug test is today. Und you just so happened to take a puff of your one-hitter a couple nights ago before dinner with your wife's awful parents... Drug war.

But zhen, you find out that the only ones being called in for testing are your black und Hispanic co-workers… Race war.

Zhen you try und post about it on your Facebook, but then all your friends start arguing about what's right und what's wrong... Flame war.

You finally get home, und you decide to relax by watching a program about: "Who gets ze box?" "Vhat's in ze box?" "How much is what's in ze box verth?"… Storage Wars.

*chuckle*

Vhat I am telling you, my Nazi army of one thousand vampires, is that I am a purveyor of war. And vith your help over the years, ve are now at ze precipice of our true goal.

You see, I want a simple var. No class wars, no drug wars, no race wars, no flame wars... Und certainly, no Cold Wars!... Blue balled for forty years...

What I want is a var that only we can bring. A true war! A German war! The sequel you've all been waiting for!

I! WANT! WORLD! WAR!! THREE!!!''

[N/A: Shout out to TFS for the amazing Hellsing villain speech.]