Chapter 152: Bonus Chapter

Not long after Arias's plane took off, an all black heavily armored car appeared on the runway, racing toward the point Arias had taken off from. It's sight familiar to almost any resident of Gotham, it was the bat mobile.

In it, Batman sat in what could only be described as the cockpit with Robin in the second chair below.

"We're too late, he's gone." Robin revealed but Batman continued to drive at a rapid pace while answering, "That's not while I'm in a hurry."

Nearing Arias's vehicle which was left behind, Batman drifted to a stop and the duo's attention turned to the lone figure lying on the ground in a small pool of blood, Superman.

"What…" Robin looked at the sight in disbelief while Batman frowned and acted fast, and existed the vehicle before rushing over to Superman.

He stopped nearby and tapped the side of his mask, enabling to see the scene differently. Carefully he flipped Superman over and saw a hole on Superman's suit around the abdomen area… but no wound.

He quickly furrowed his brows and tapped the side of his mask again, enabling a sort of x-ray feature on the visors that enabled him to see inside Superman.

It was then that he saw a glowing green bullet, lodged into Superman's spinal cord. What was even more odd, is that the areas around the bullet kept bleeding nonstop, leading Batman to wonder. "What is this…"

Robin soon came by his side and inquired. "What's going on?" With worry on his face.

Batman not fully understanding the situation didn't reply and took out a sharp scalpel of sorts from his utility belt and tried cutting into Superman's side… but the blade on the tool broke and failed to penetrate Superman's skin.

"This is bad." He muttered before standing up and tapping another part of his mask. "J'onn, we have a problem. How familiar are you with Kyrptonian physiology?"

…

Later that day, Arias's Jet had long left American airspace and was currently approaching the red zone in the Caribbean territories, known for their heavy drug dealings and trafficking exchanges.

Arias's destination was a private island in the middle of all that chaos. Following Slade's idea, he too had prepared an island paradise in a danger zone, fully equipped with its own little private army.

It was amazing what one could do with enough money.

And Arias went to great lengths to sell the image of being a normal billionaire, who just so happened to be a meta human as well.

The entire point in having security was to protect oneself, as long this facade was kept, Arias's enemies would continue to underestimate him greatly.

But after his display back in Gotham, even if he didn't invoke his true powers, the world considered him powerful.

He could have easily left without anyone being any wiser but he chose to do so grandly so as to send a message.

During his time as killer for hire, the criminal underworld revolving around people with super powers was a territory he could never touch.

They were a cruel and ruthless bunch who only respected strength. It was the type of place where money alone wasn't enough to get you what you wanted, and knowing this, Arias purposefully humiliated the agents sent after him single handily.

Even as they approached his private island, Harley lounged in her seat, watching the video footage leaked of his display.

What wasn't leaked though was Superman's fall, this didn't matter to Arias. He for one knew the government wouldn't let the world know that their country's strongest ally in Superman had a vulnerability… and it was in the hands of the man they had just put on their most wanted list.

It would be national mockery. So as Arias sat lamenting his next moves, he was sure the eggheads in the Whitehouse were praying that Arias didn't reveal he took out Superman.

There was only so much damage control they could do, and the amount of chaos that would erupt in metropolis for one would be immense, the sheer thought of it all gave them a headache.

Like clockwork, Arias's private line, existing on the Leviathan network rang on his satellite phone. The caller I.D on such phones was never stated but he smiled regardless, knowing that it was an opportunity.

"Hello? Arias speaking." He answered casually, curious as to who reached out to him first.

[ Greetings Mr. Markovic, a mutual friend of ours passed on your line to me. But forgive my manners, I am Vandal Savage, a man who is very impressed by your recent exploits. ] He revealed.

The name immediately rings familiar to Arias, a name he learned from Slade and knowledge he gained from Lex, a name that belonged to the leader and founder of the organization known as "The Light."

Even with Lex's vast knowledge on Vandal Savage, Arias could only summarize that he was powerful, immortal man with great ambitions that extended past the world.

Arias cracked a smile and replied casually, neither moved nor intimidated, instead, Arias's mind already began to work its web of lies and manipulation.

"I simply do what I must. But I doubt you went out of your way to just tell me this? Feel free to share why you called me Mr. Savage."

[ A direct man, I like that. To be frank, my associates and I have been keeping an eye on you and your actions. Impressive isn't enough to describe what you've achieved in such a short time but we had our doubts. Your most recent exploits though, have cleared them all and with that, I'd like to extend an invitation to our group of like minded individuals. It just so happens a spot opened up after one of our best members met an… ill fated demise. ]

Savage spoke in a knowing tone and his words could be seen as suggestive, as if he was trying to get a feel of Arias's nature first hand.

From the way he spoke, Arias could tell that Savage was talking about Lex and suggesting clearly that he had played a part in his death but him not mentioning it could be seen as Savage saying he didn't care.

This didn't come as a surprise, from what he knew thanks to Lex, Vandal Savage was someone who believed in survival of the fittest and despised the weak.

Arias could only guess that Savage saw Luthor dying as him being weak and nothing more. A truly ruthless man, just the type Arias was looking to associate himself with.

"I consider my time valuable so for you to offer this, you must be sure that your organization's goals align with my own." He remarked, not jumping at the offer for obvious reasons.

Savage also enjoyed this conversation with a fellow man of intellect and bold nature so his subtle snicker was heard on the other side of the line.

[ Isn't it obvious? From what I've seen, you truly recognize where humanity's future lays and want to see it rise to its true place in the cosmos. To make everyone see "The Light." ] He revealed, a sort of pride lacing his words.

In reply, Arias chose to agree. "I'm mildly impressed but you are right to some extent. The world as it is right now is flawed and I intend to change that."

Savage heard what he wanted to hear. [ Then I welcome you to The Light, Arias Markovic, I look forward to what we can achieve united."

A/N: Aight Let's fucking go. In other news, due to popular demand, I'll be sharing the links to archived works on patron by Sunday. This includes ( Naruto The Forgotten Clan, Avatar A New Legacy, Mixed Parody Chapters And The Smut Stories series ) So those who were asking for them should wait for the discord announcement. I'll also be posting advance chapters for GOTO on patron starting this weekend due to popular demand again along with the short stories (mostly smut) that are just laying around in my docs. So much for being a lazy author. Enjoy the bonus guys.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/GodOfBrutality