Chapter 176: Consequences Part 1

Once Batman and the others found Superman in the sorry state he was in, they no longer tried to pursue Arias, following his orders. The shock the sight of Superman brought to Batman was immense, and given that he was their strongest member, it meant the others had little hope, especially with some injured. He could only wait until Superman was saved… if he could be saved, and ask just what had happened.

Following this train of thought, he and the rest of the League retreated. Meanwhile, Arias was seated in the passenger seat of a private chopper. Opposite him sat Harley, who was tending to her minor wounds and scrapes, and Rose, who had arrived with the chopper.

Immediately after they got into the sky, Rose turned her attention to Arias. "By the way, remember that assassin from the League who slipped by last time? The one Diana and I caught snooping around the estate? She didn't put up a fight and said she has a message for you."

Hearing this, Arias rested his head on his palm, curiosity evident in his gaze. "What message?"

"She wouldn't say. She only said she had to tell it to you. I don't know, I think it's a ploy to try and get close to you since their other means failed." Rose crossed her arms as she spoke, clearly not a fan of the so-called assassin.

As far as Arias was concerned, with him and Ra's on the same side, Ra's had no reason to try and kill him, but anything was possible, so he didn't rule it out immediately.

'Maybe this has to do with the gift he mentioned, perhaps it's information. Interesting,' Arias thought, given the variables present.

Rose saw Arias in thought and chose not to disturb him, instead waiting for a reply. Arias noticed her not-so-subtle impatience and waved off the matter. "We'll handle it when we arrive. At the end of the day, she's just one assassin."

Only after hearing this was Rose willing to let the matter go. But Arias had his own questions. "Has Slade brought you up to speed?"

"Yes, he has. The footage will be going live at 10 PM, and as per your orders, the two stations that will lead the charge are Gotham Gazette and the Daily Planet. After this, the government might make you number one on the most-wanted list," she revealed and then predicted, but Arias only snickered.

"They were going to do so regardless. I'm an independent multi-billionaire with thousands of metahumans under me. It's only natural for them to see me as a threat and get greedy for what I have. Even now, the only reason they haven't forced a takeover of my institutions isn't because of Terra, but the elections. If those go their way, then they'll definitely act. Unfortunately for them, I'm about to completely destroy their chances."

Rose listened keenly and didn't reply. She could only wait and see for herself whether what was being said would occur or not.

But Arias wasn't done as he remembered something. "Oh, and I need you to personally look into the backgrounds of some of the suspicious students in my institutions. Barbara did well to create a shortlist, but I need a solid picture of who they work for and what they aim to accomplish."

Having been cooped up on the island estate for some time, Rose was in the mood for some action, so she happily accepted the assignment, despite its lackluster content. "I'll do a bit of research and preparation and then set off. Shouldn't take me more than a month."

With Arias's plan on the right track, he knew it wouldn't be long before he could proceed with the institutions as he had planned, but this was still some months away. In that time, he needed to have an idea of what threats existed to the foundation he was building.

"No rush, you have until the elections are over." Not wanting to risk a lack of information due to a tight deadline, Arias was lenient with the time he provided.

…

Meanwhile, in the cockpit of Batman's jet, Martian Manhunter appeared from behind Batman's seat with a stoic expression. "Flash, Canary, and Arrow will all recover within a month's time, but as for Superman, I'm unsure. His body is clearly healing, but the pace so far is fairly slow. I'll need to research more and see if there's any way to accelerate the process. He will, though, be conscious in less than a week, I presume. His vitals are strong despite the state he is in. Quite lucky."

Batman listened intently and gave a brief nod. "It's not luck. He was purposefully left that way to send a message to the rest of us. Arias Markovic has shown more than once that he can kill Superman. The fact he didn't was no act of mercy. I'm sure Superman can feel every single sensation of pain his body is experiencing… the message is clear."

Martian Manhunter could understand Batman's worries, but his lay elsewhere. "Until we have a way to contain him, I feel it would be wise to avoid any more provocations. At the very least, he doesn't seek to actively cause problems that endanger the innocent."

Applying logic to the matter, Martian Manhunter saw very little reason to have the entire League pursue Arias as if he were a threat on the scale of Darkseid or the Human Supremacy Group.

Even Luthor, who had on numerous occasions shown his desire to be at the helm of humanity, wasn't pursued by the League. So why now? Martian Manhunter wasn't the only one having such thoughts, feeling the pursuit of Arias was indeed just government-influenced.

Batman could more or less hear the doubt in J'onn's words, so he didn't try to convince him otherwise. Only someone like him could truly understand the danger that Arias posed.

Luthor had clearly begun to understand it and was about to take Arias seriously, but by then, it was too late. His own ignorance of other people's intellect was his downfall. Batman wasn't about to make the same mistake.

Before the conversation could carry on, a third voice appeared on the scene—Green Lantern's. "Guys, you may want to see what's being broadcast."

He was seated in a seat not too far from Batman, his eyes glued to a screen near him. Following his words, Batman put the jet into auto-pilot and clicked a button that brought up an even larger screen. On it was the news.

**[Breaking news: As you are all aware now, a few hours prior, the Justice League began an operation to attack what is believed to have been the Human Supremacy Group's headquarters. However, what you don't know is that wanted Gotham billionaire, Arias Markovic, was also present and played a huge part in rescuing the children.]**

**[However, the League then attacked him, leading to a fight that we cannot show you all, unfortunately. In the end, the footage shows Mr. Markovic surrendering so that the captive children present at the facility could be saved and avoid harm. After his surrender, he was given over to an undisclosed American force, who then took him to a private facility, with no intention of letting the media or his family know. Audio has been received of ******* admitting that Mr. Markovic wouldn't get a trial.]**

**[What happened after this is even more shocking, as Mr. Markovic and Gotham Task Force member, Harley Quinn, fought with the entire military base, taking many lives in the process. So far, neither the League nor the U.S. government has had a chance to comment on this. Please stay tuned for a deeper breakdown of the matter.]**

Batman was left speechless by what he just saw, and it was very clear what implications this sort of bad media could bring, not just for the League but for the government as a whole. "So that was his plan… he already knew we would try to capture him."

Little did Batman know, Arias's true plan was something no one could expect…