Chapter 211: Loyalty Part 2

As days passed, with Arias away from Gotham and completely off the grid, the city became somewhat more… dull.

The news had very little to report on aside from regular day-to-day occurrences or world events.

Most stations now chose to cover Wonder Woman and Harley as they fought crime in many different states and cities across the country.

They had quickly grown to become perhaps the most popular topic on numerous platforms, which was no surprise given that they were both not only attractive but dressed quite provocatively.

However, aside from the horny and lovestruck fans, many viewers didn't find their escapades interesting, as they didn't differ much from what the League heroes did.

And like Arias had predicted, they too began to be taken for granted, with as many equally hating on them and their endeavors.

On a lone Monday night, Harley and Diana had returned to Gotham and were carrying out a routine patrol around the city.

As they would often do when they saw nothing was happening, the duo chose to simply overlook the city from atop a skyscraper.

In their short time fighting crime together, they had grown a little closer as friends, but more importantly, they both began to see heroics differently, more so Diana.

"Are all humans this ungrateful? One goes out of their way to help, and yet they fling obscenities and spew vulgarities."

Diana overlooked the city while slightly hovering in the air with her arms crossed. Harley, on the other hand, was laid up on her back with her gaze fixated on the skies.

Having been a criminal not too long ago, she was quite used to hate, to the extent of getting images of her burned. However, she never really cared then, and didn't care now.

"Don't let 'em get to you. It's easier to just ignore 'em and do your own thing, y'know? Besides, why should I care what a bunch of nobodies say about me? I know I'm awesome, you know I'm awesome, and Mr. M knows I'm awesome. That's enough for lil ole me."

Harley spoke in a tone that matched her energy, and she received an understanding smile from Diana, who soon nodded in agreement.

"I know you're right, but a part of me still can't stand them. Sometimes I simply want to battle with these keyboard warriors, as you call them, to the death!"

Not holding back her voice, Diana boldly and honestly declared her feelings, while Harley simply laughed along and showed support.

"Be sure to invite me when you do."

...

At the same time within the city, Slade was paying a visit to Leviathan Tower, which as a corporation was still a big backer for his candidacy.

So to keep up the facade, occasional meetings would need to be held.

And with Arias gone, these duties fell onto either Mercy or Terra, both of whom were present this night.

Without wasting much time, Slade and his political team were led up to the main conference room, where Mercy and the newly returned Terra were present and waiting, along with their own team.

Like clockwork, the meeting went on for a good hour, where each side presented points, analysis, statistics, and suggestions.

After that hour was over, both sides closed and agreed to reach a conclusion later.

Before they could leave, though, Slade sent his team ahead.

"Wait for me in the lobby, I won't be long."

Without needing him to elaborate on his reasons, Slade's team gave understanding nods and left one after another.

Similarly, Mercy gestured her team out, leaving only her, Terra, and Slade.

Once the door closed and they had privacy, Slade leaned back and sighed.

"These damn elections can't come any quicker. I've lied more times during this gig than I have in my entire life. Being a politician is tough, evil work. Anyway, any news from the big man?"

Knowing what Slade meant by his question, Mercy immediately shook her head.

"I was going to ask you the same thing, but it looks like we're both left to work our asses off in these monkey suits while he has the time of his life."

Mercy never hid her distaste for office work among those who knew her true nature.

And just like Slade, she very much missed the feel of blasting a gun and emptying a clip into an enemy. In comparison, now they both had day-to-day jobs doing nothing but office work.

"Well, we'll just have to tough it out until the elections are over. The other candidates are getting restless, though. I'm finding more and more attempts on my life these days and threats disguised as offers."

Over the past few weeks, Slade had remained the public favorite to win the coming elections according to the mock polls.

With such a definite victory in sight, numerous powers were going restless. Be it mega-corporations, ally countries, various politicians, or even the military.

The list of people who didn't want Slade to win was incredibly immense, especially since his only monetary backer was Leviathan and the fact that he was an independent candidate, belonging to neither Democrats nor Republicans.

Many felt that because of this, they had little to no sway over him. And with time quickly elapsing, some individuals were growing desperate.

Mercy could understand this sentiment and nodded along.

"You think that's tough? You should see how many people have been sending offers to buy into the company or form a marriage alliance through Terra. A few offers were in the trillions in value. And like you said, if we say no, they're basically saying they'll come after us."

Another worrying point for numerous organizations was Leviathan's development.

Although in value it registered to be in the billions, many saw its value as far greater.

With the current head being a single young monarch, the company owning the biggest meta-human gathering in the world, and also having close ties to the future president of the number one economy in the world, to name a few, it was no surprise offers came through to buy into this future mega-corporation, using stakes in their own companies to make astronomical offers in terms of value.

They did this because although Arias was indeed considered both clever and a powerful meta-human, in their eyes, he wasn't invincible.

On paper, Arias had really subtracted himself from the company completely, leaving Terra and Mercy as the only two stakeholders.

If they could gain control over this by any means, it didn't matter to them what Arias tried, as they were confident they could match his force.

Before they could reach a solution to these problems, Mercy's phone buzzed.

"Great, must be another 'offer I can't refuse.' Tsk. I'll be right back."

Mercy could only click her tongue in irritation and step out for a bit. Even though she herself didn't consider the offers, she made sure to record and document each one so she could pass them on to Arias the moment he called.

Terra, who had been silent this entire time, looked at Slade with a complex gaze before speaking up.

"Why not just take one of the offers? We can have more money than we'd know what to do with, and if you want… you can become King of—"

Before Terra could fully express her feelings, Slade's chilly voice cut her off.

"Listen to my words very carefully, Terra. No matter how much you have or who you have beside you, should you make a stupid mistake, I'll be the one Arias sends to end you, and I'll do it without hesitation. So, a piece of advice: keep your delusions to yourself, because next time, they might just cost you everything."