Chapter 113: Batman Woes Part 3

Following their brief introductions, Bruce and Arias moved away from the main hall, as if Bruce were giving him a tour. No one questioned this as they just assumed the two needed to discuss something privately.

Their separation from the main hall did, in fact, start off as a tour of the Manor. The usually stiff Bruce was very charismatic today, and Arias matched his energy, making the two look like close friends to the unknowing eye.

"And there we have the pool area; I've lost count of how many parties I've had there," Bruce commented while pointing towards a lavish pool and mini-bar.

Arias laughed along and joined in the banter, raising a brow and asking, "You'll have to invite me to your next one. I can always appreciate a well-defined body by the pool."

Bruce then narrowed his brows and shook his head. "Sorry, I'm only interested in women, but I appreciate the compliment."

"Very funny, but you could've fooled me. Granted, with how popular you are, I think Gotham had expected a Mrs. Wayne by now, perhaps even a Bruce Junior," Arias added while walking with his hands behind his back, occasionally looking at the wall art decorating much of the manor.

In reply, Bruce laughed and shook his head. "I've had some serious relationships, but it seems I have terrible taste in women."

Arias nodded before coming to a stop at one particular painting, the one that showed a young Bruce with his family. "Ah yes, Miss Selina Kyle."

Hearing Arias say this, Bruce's charismatic smile faded, and his mind began to think of a reply. Denying it wasn't an option, after all, and if he knew that he and Selina were a thing, then it was safe to assume that his other identity was exposed.

But before Bruce could answer, Arias spoke first and added, "She is a fine woman, hobbies aside. Anyway, sorry for stopping. Looking at this just reminds me of myself a little."

Bruce's furrowed brow returned to normal as it didn't seem like Arias was trying to threaten him, but again, it was hard to see whether he was genuine or not.

For now, Bruce chose to stay in character and overreact. "Well, it's always the pretty ones that confuse men," he added while walking over to Arias and standing beside him.

There, Bruce then asked, "I've heard the story about you, but it's probably deeper than that. I'll share mine if you'll share yours." He offered, but Arias simply walked away while shaking his head.

"There's no deeper meaning behind mine. I simply had a terrible father and a naïve mother. It's enough that at least one of them loved me. I will say this, though: it would've been easier to swallow if the murderer were a stranger to me…"

Once again, Arias's tone left him unreadable. He didn't show any great sadness when speaking, but neither did he look happy; his expression right now could only be described as content.

"I can only imagine. Is that why you're doing what you're doing for Gotham? Trying to make it safer?" Bruce also moved away from the painting and inquired, but Arias shook his head.

"Not exactly. I'm not so kind as to do all this without my own motives and gains. Gotham is my home, and what person wouldn't want to keep their home clean and problem-free?"

Arias's analogy made some sense, but that didn't explain his desire to create schools for aliens and metas, his other projects aside. Was he lying? Or did he just feel safer having such people on his side?

Seeing Bruce go quiet after he gave his answer, Arias went on to ask another question. "Isn't that the reason you risk your life fighting crime when you could live a carefree and lavish life?"

Although he asked in a harmless tone, Arias's question caused Bruce to come to an abrupt halt. Soon, Arias also stopped, and the two stood a few feet from one another.

Now, Bruce didn't hide his frown, while Arias looked calm, as if he had revealed the most normal thing. Bruce knew he couldn't deny it; Arias looked too sure, and he had no reason to lie. 

He only wondered how Arias knew. Through Barbara? Or Selina?

Seeing Bruce thinking of how to reply once again, Arias spoke first.

"Your secret's safe with me, for as long as—" Before Arias could finish speaking, his senses heightened from nowhere as he felt something coming from behind him.

He immediately sidestepped left and evaded his attacker, who turned out to be Selina, wearing a different but equally tight bodysuit as the one he first saw her in.

"Selina, what are you doing!?" The one to ask this was Bruce, as he was shocked by her sudden attack.

Did she really hate Arias that much for having her arrested and getting a good chunk of her wealth removed?

Selina looked at Bruce and shook her head. "I placed a listening device on the sole of your shoes, just so I could stay up to date since you wanted me nowhere near the party. But I can see you don't realize how dangerous he is despite everything I've told you; instead, you're playing buddy."

Arias looked at Selina and snickered. "So what? You plan to kill me?"

She could see that Arias was clearly mocking her, anger in her eyes. Her anger stemmed from many things: Bruce not saving her, doubting her when she brought the truth, Arias costing her millions, and finally now, him looking none too fazed by everything.

"I don't care if you're rotting in a cell or six feet under, honestly," she angrily replied, causing Arias to tilt his head at her.

Out of nowhere, he raised his hand in Bruce's direction, and in the next moment, a defenseless Bruce rose up into the air while struggling helplessly.

"You don't care what happens to me, but what about him? Since you've told him everything, I have no reason to hold back," Arias casually said.

"Bastard!" Selina was quick on her feet and closed the distance between her and Arias quickly, thinking she could get to him before he raised his hand.

!!

Unfortunately for her, Arias didn't need to raise his limbs to use his powers; he only did to fool people into thinking his power had restrictions. Although a minor detail, it was enough to make an enemy cause a mistake, such as now.

Selina's mistake made her fall victim to his attack next as she found her body completely stiff; not even her fingers could move.

Arias then approached Selina, hovering her stasis body toward him. Once close, he held her by the chin and looked at her, his smile long gone.

"I had actually come here without intent to cause problems. If anything, I actually saw a partnership between me and Bruce there as possible, but no, getting your freedom back wasn't enough; you just had to return and cause me problems."

With every word that escaped Arias's mouth, Bruce could be seen struggling in greater pain as his body fell victim to the immense pressure Arias's telekinesis could cause.

He had made preparations in case Selina was right, but many of them needed either a phrase or gesture, and right now, Bruce could neither move nor talk.

It reached a point where Bruce now had blood coming out of his nose and his eyes looking bloodshot. Selina then realized Arias really was about to kill him, just like that, with no fear of the consequences.

Seeing her look desperate, Arias eased the pressure on her throat, and she spoke in a ragged and forced tone. "L-let him go. It's me who caused problems, right?"

Arias snickered and let her drop to the ground but kept Bruce up, still in grave danger. "Right you are; it was you who made me angry, and it's you who's going to ease that anger… or I could kill him now with a thought."

It took a moment for Selina to understand what he meant by "ease anger," but once she understood, she gritted her teeth in anger before cursing. "You're a coward and a dog."

Her insults meant nothing to Arias, who just looked down at her, a smug expression on his face.

"Yet you're the one on your knees when I didn't even mention how you could ease my anger. What if I just want to kill you instead, or maybe disfigure that face of yours… permanently? I'd say Bruce has about two minutes before his internal organs collapse… how do you plan on easing my anger in that short time?"