108: You?!

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(Davian's P.O.V)

The higher we went up the mountain, the more visibility became an issue. Until it wasn't.

One second, my Fullbring bubble is a glowing green in a void of white, due to the heavy snowfall, then the next, I feel my body pass through a veil of sorts.

The sensation felt like cold water being poured down on me.

I came out on the other side and the whole environment had changed.

The falling snow disappeared. The wind stopped howling and the frigid air turned warm.

It was instantaneous. And oh so pretty.

"Wow. I've never really been here before but wow."

Deadman said in awe.

A gleaming fortress covered with snow stood on the peak of the mountain, surrounded on all sides by sheer faced cliffs.

The sun's rays perfectly highlighted the spires jutting out of the towers attached to the main complex.

The Fortress itself looked like a cross between a castle and a pagoda, with a high wall surrounding it.

Infront of the entrance into Nanda Parbat, a huge female statue carved from a gleaming silver rock stood tall.

The statue lay in the middle of the small courtyard, in-between the veil of energy acting as a boundary and the Fortress' wall.

Right off the bat, I could feel something from the Statue. A sort of presence that permeated the air around.

A lone monk meditated below the steps of the statue.

"Alright, let's get this over with."

I said, dismissing the bubble shield and walking towards the entrance.

The monk looked up as we arrived, giving me a chance to study him.

"Wait, you?"

I asked, looking at the Jade Master.

He got to his feet and did a full bow.

"Great spirit-san, Champion-san, I apologize for my earlier deception. I wanted to make sure you would not seek to harm my home by testing your personality."

He apologized.

"I knew there was something off about him."

Chase pointed out.

"He was too...normal to be normal. A normal person would never be able to face you directly."

"To atone for my deception, the elders punished me to wait for you on the entrance to Nanda Parbat."

He straightened to his full height.

"I've been waiting for the last 16 hours."

He delivered calmly, but also phrased the statement like a query. A query as to why we had taken so long.

"There was a storm. We had to seek shelter so as to not veer off course."

I told him, passing him by and heading towards the gate.

The Jade Master jogged to walk beside me in silence.

"Champion-san." Deadman muttered thoughtfully. Then he smiled

"I like the sound of that."

Then he turned to me,

"Hey, so this is the guy who tried to attack you in the alley?"

"Yup."

I replied.

The Jade Master looked at me in question.

"I assume you're talking to Champion-san?"

I stopped.

"This is gonna get annoying fast. I don't have time to be a mediator. Chase, anything you can do about that?"

"You can use Chesha Neko to construct a physical vessel for Deadman to inh..."

He started but I cut him off.

"No. Anything else besides that."

His next words made my back stiffen before I turned to Deadman with an unimpressed glare.

"Someone's been holding out on me. You can materialize in the physical world now, can't you?"

The Jade Master followed my gaze and obviously saw nothing.

On the other hand, Deadman's face blanched as he raised his hands and backed away.

"I...it was only recent that I discovered I could do it."

I raised a hand to stop him before he started droning on.

"Stop. Don't explain. Just do it."

Deadman gave a nod. Then his spirit energy started brimming within his soul. With a flash of blue, he appeared in the physical world.

Real.

Tangible.

Ignoring the Jade Master's enthusiastic exchange with the Champion of his Patron Goddess, I proceeded towards the entrance without waiting for them.

Something seemed to be pulling me towards the city.

(General P.O.V)

(Gotham City)

"Run simulation."

Batman, clad in his iconic black suit, stood in a secluded corner of the Batcave, his face a mask of determination and resolve.

In his hand, he held the mighty power ring of the Green Lantern Corps, a symbol of immense cosmic power.

The emerald light emitted from the ring bathed the cave in an ethereal glow, casting long shadows on the walls.

(Simulation #89 running.)

The ring answered.

The walls of the Batcave seemed to ripple before they disappeared from all around him.

The space before him widened and then lengthened.

Power surged through his veins, merging his formidable willpower with the green color of the spectrum.

In an instant, the air around him seemed to crackle with temporal energy, reality warping and distorting in response to his command.

The very fabric of time seemed to bend to his indomitable will.

From the depths of the Batcave, colossal gears and cogs materialized, suspended in the air as if defying gravity.

Each gear represented a moment in time, their intricate mechanisms intertwining flawlessly.

The past,

The present,

The future.

Batman manipulated the green light, weaving it through the gears, forging an unbreakable bond between them.

As the luminous energy enveloped the metallic structure, it hummed with newfound power.

The static- a combination of all three to form a stagnant region in space and time that never moved forward or backward.

With each twist and turn, Batman could feel his construct taking shape, solidifying its existence.

He etched his own will into the creation of the fourth gear. The foundation of the Static.

The temporal architecture grew stronger, the walls of the cave pulsating with a green luminescence, a testament to the immense power of the green lantern.

Suddenly, the gears began to rotate, albeit imperceptibly slow, as if time itself had conspired to respect the construct's design.

It mattered little that he was dealing with forces unknown to man.

Using the ring's scanning abilities, Batman had downloaded all knowledge on quantum physics, mathematical and scientific subjects on time, speed and velocity and anything related to space time continuum.

All into his head.

Batman's mind, sharp as ever, had devised a plan to use this knowledge and create a prison unlike any other—one that would harness the enigmatic principles of time itself.

A prison that would incarcerate the League's most dangerous foes in a cell of stagnation.

A cell that would halt all time within it...forever.

'He' (Scarlet Devil) had forced his hand. Brought to light things that Batman had never really tried to fix partly in fear of making things worse, and partly because of inability.

Batman was well aware that the current legal measures put in place were ineffective.

Villains escaped mere months or even weeks after being brought in.

Not to mention with the Scarlet Devil showing no qualms to take lives, something needed to be done.

Not Killing of course. But a way to ensure Supervillains didn't break out of jail and cause havoc.

And now with the power of the green lantern, he was close to making it work. Close to creating a time prison.

One that was inescapable. In some ways it was worse than Killing.

What one couldn't deny was that...it would be effective.

Once he managed to get it to work.

"Temporal energies in flux. Construct destabilizing. Simulation #89...failed."

Batman's jaw clenched as the simulation around him broke down. The gears disappeared and he was back in the Batcave.

"Did you get that?"

He asked Robin who had been monitoring things from the Batcomputer.

The young sidekick shook his head ruefully.

"Even with the new specs in the computer, the ring's capabilities are too advanced for the it to scan."

Batman looked at the ring on his finger and frowned.

"We're going again. Run simulation."

(Simulation #90 running.)

(Elsewhere)

The first indication that something was wrong, was the entire hotel being rocked with a massive explosion.

A room on the left side of the building went up in flames. And along with it, claimed the lives of half a dozen intruders.

Cheshire grinned from the roof of a building 3 blocks away.

This probably meant she would be banner from the Golden Winged Dragon and it's branches for breaking it's one rule.

The bomb had gone off beautifully. She dropped the detonator and tapped the side of her mask, enhancing her vision.

Black smoke drifted up from the building and into the clear sky.

Sirens could already be heard and people were being ushered out of the hotel in a hurry.

She wasn't dumb. She knew they would come for her and had prepared.

"Nicely done. You haven't forgotten your training."

Cheshire stiffened as a voice said from behind her.

Him?

Crusher?

What was he doing here?

She forced her body into a relaxed state, grabbing a handful of Shuriken before whirling around and...

A couple of darts landed on her body before she could even turn.

Cheshire felt her limbs go numb. Then her body seized up as the tranquilizer worked fast. She fell and...

Darkness.

"But you were always slow to react when an attack came at you from behind."

SportsMaster said, lowering his hand.

He stepped closer to Cheshire's passed out form.

"That's why you should always duck first little girl. You don't try to see how fast you are compared to the other guy. This is not a western standoff. You're an Assassin."

He belated slightly, before turning to the other person on the rooftop.

Lady Shiva, flanked with half a dozen figures wearing dark cloaks that covered their forms, turned to leave through the boom tube.

"Bring her. She'll be useful in getting his attention. This time, he won't escape."

The deadly woman ordered.