Chapter 149

"It's been a while, kid. How are things with you?"

Steve Trevor asked who is now the second in command of the A.R.G.U.S.

Dio was sitting at the table in front of the large screen, where he was having a video call with him.

"Much better than you, it seems. Are you still trying to grow that ridiculous beard?"

Dio teased him a bit.

"Say what you want, kid, but Diana likes it a lot."

Steve assured him while running his hand over his short beard.

Diana and Trevor have a strong relationship, unlike in comics, where writers always break up couples without explanation and leave them for new love interests.

"If you say so."

"But why did you call? I doubt it was just to catch up."

This is more serious than he thought.

"So you don't know. In fact, we just had a very unpleasant visit from A.R.G.U.S.!"

Dio quickly told him everything that happened and the details of the mission.

"Okay, now I'm fucked!"

"Tell me about it."

"I know the influence of the new mysterious leader is growing, but so far, I was pretty sure I knew about all the missions carried out by us. Now I hear that we tried to kidnap a girl."

Steve was angry—really angry.

After a while, the new leader of A.R.G.U.S., who was never revealed started making small moves by moving a few people around every two or four months.

Now that they have full power over new members, the new leader has half of the A.R.G.U.S. loyal to them.

"Can you give me any information you have about this girl?"

Dio asked him.

"I'll search the files. If there's no information in the system, the problem will get ten times worse."

If Steve can't find any information about Rose, it means the leader has more hidden dirt that he doesn't know about.

"But are you going to accept this mission?"

Steve asked while typing something on his keyboard and searching the file.

"And the League, you have to inform Batman."

"We will, but the Bat is busy right now, and even if he were against it, they threatened our family, Steve. Not even Batman can stop us now."

"Oh, I know that, but I really think Major Nicholson took this action without the leader's authorization, as they wouldn't reveal such information like that. It doesn't seem like their style."

"It could be, but the interest in the girl is clear, and even if they didn't give the order, Major Nicholson is their subordinate, and they have to take responsibility for her mistakes."

"You won't find any complaints from me."

Dio could hear the anger in his voice.

"Wait, I found no information about the girl in the database!"

Steve exclaimed.

"That proves it was a secret mission or under the table."

"That's infuriating, but also a good opportunity. By law, even if it's a secret mission with no records, they should have informed me. This means it's a mission under the table without the approval of the heads of state."

"Are you going to try using politics?"

Dio guessed.

"Why not? The law is on my side. It would be foolish not to take advantage of it."

"Good luck with that."

"For you too, kid."

They hang up, and the next thing to do is wait for everyone to be back.

...

"So, we were threatened?"

Starfire asked while sitting at the table.

She flew in from a famous fashion show, so she's still wearing a long red gala dress and heavily made-up.

She hasn't changed much over the years as her race lives longer than humans.

"A bunch of bastards. We should go to their beautiful HQ and give them an answer!"

Roy roared.

"That wouldn't be a smart move; it would be the same as declaring war on the country."

Dick said that and stayed calm as always. However, Dio could hear his heart beating and was also furious.

Dick had changed over the years, from a little kid to a strong teenager. He's wearing casual clothes without a mask.

"I agree, and attacking a government military facility is something that will give us even more problems. But I also agree with Roy; this action shouldn't be simply ignored."

Kaldur'ahm said.

Kaldur'ahm is wearing a blue Atlantean outfit; he hasn't changed much physically either.

"These idiots can cause trouble for my dad. Why don't we do what they want?"

Wally asked visibly scared.

"Because we are the good guys, and we don't kidnap people for a possibly corrupt government boss."

Dio replied.

He had already told them everything about his call with Steve.

"Don't worry about your dad, Wally. One of the League's financiers is Mr. Wayne, for whom he works. He's a big ally of ours. I'll tell him everything in person, and not even A.R.G.U.S. can beat an army of expensive lawyers."

Dick's promise really reassured Wally.

The League isn't funded by the government but receives donations from certain individuals who are part of the League.

However, the others don't know that.

"So, what do we do about her?"

Dio asked while pointing to the image of Rose on the screen.

They began to discuss what to do.

...

"That was a stupid move, Major Nicholson, really stupid."

In the A.R.G.U.S. jet, Major Nicholson was sitting in her seat with the

phone to her ear.

"I'm really sorry, ma'am. I thought it would be a good idea to rush our plans and reduce our workload."

Nicholson apologized nervously.

"I like my subordinates to show initiative when I approve of their execution."

"I'll accept any punishment, ma'am, and bear all the repercussions for my mistake."

"Mistakes, Major. Not only did you tell them that we're after the girl too early, but you also revealed that we have personal information about two of their members."

Major Nicholson trembled, and her whole body stiffened.

The same fear she felt a while ago in the Tower returned just by thinking about the words she spoke in front of someone she thought was just a kid.

{What's wrong?}

The A.R.G.U.S. leader asked while sensing Major Nicholson's strange behavior.

"At that moment, I really thought he would cut off my head if we didn't back down."

Nicholson confessed the truth.

"Oh, he definitely would, Major Nicholson. You should have read the files with his behavioral analysis."

Once again, she froze. She had no idea that one of the young heroes could kill her until she entered the Tower.

"But he's a hero, how could he do something like that?"

"I've already said you should read his reports. He received training from Diana and Zatanna, a veteran warrior who didn't hesitate to sacrifice one life to save another. The boy is the same and has twice the number of deaths as the full of the vampires who died at the hands of all the others on his team, not to mention the magic, which is always a blind spot for us."

Governments have all the latest technology and resources, but when it comes to magic, they're pretty much helpless.

Zatanna is a greater threat than Batman himself to them since they would have no defense against her spells.

"What do we do now, ma'am?"

Major Nicholson asked to change the subject.

"We observe. The girl's father is returning to the country as we speak, and the little ones will surely be recruited eventually. We will reach either of our two goals. In the meantime, I have to deal with Steve Trevor, who must have already been informed of your visit."

The leader hung up the phone without answering.

Major Nicholson put the phone away.

She felt a little better knowing what would happen next and that her little trick would give some trouble to that monster.

It's likely that she and the leader knew a lot more about what was happening than the Titans did.

But they both didn't know about the small, shadowy thing that was watching and listening in Major's shadow.

...

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