CHAPTER 209

Working at a lab in the Justice League headquarters, Cyborg swerved through a series of information as he computed a lot of computer codes. As he dived deep into his research, Batman walked in on him.

"What is it you wanted to show me." He asked, scanning through the files that popped up on the computer screen.

"This." Cyborg replied and with a swipe of his hand, an holographic coding mechanism displayed in the middle of the room.

"What are we looking at? An unfinished computer programming?" Batman asked, taking a closer look into the hologram.

"Yeah, something like that." He replied. "I was searching for remnants of the coding Ace used to get the motherbox to comply to our command last time, so I implement them incase we ever have to deal with another one of Darkseid's attacks in the near future. But I only got these."

"This hologram almost looks like puzzle pieces of a computer brain." Batman said, taking a closer look at the hologram.

"Exactly, I assume Ace must have hijacked the motherbox with some programming as complicated as that of an artificial intelligence and this was the only prints left behind, it was done so neatly and with such precision that it barely left any print."

"But it's more than that, isn't it?" Batman asked, slightly squinting his eyes as he looked directly at Cyborg.

"It might just be me but I think it's programming language might have been tainted by that of the Mother Box."

"So what do you intend to do with this?" Batman asked, his voice laced with a serious tone.

"Imagine having a mass network of peace and justice upholding robots with one objective, and that is to maintain the peace and order in human society. They could go into dangerous situations and diffuse the immediate danger before the cops arrives."

"That's basically what we do." Batman replied, upholding his cold demeanor.

"I know but it could lead us to a futuristic world where humans no longer have to sacrifice their lives to save another, a world where the heroes aren't stretched out too thin next time there's a global attack on us."

"That's a good idea but it's too dangerous bring into reality."

"I do not mean to question you but, why?" Cyber asked.

"It's too dangerous to give robots thought patterns identical to humans, ." Batman said, taking a pause as he realized the irony of things before he continued. "They wouldn't have hearts and couldn't possible think like a human, they might take humanity down a path filled with pain and suffering.

"No, I would control the network and direct their actions. They would do according to programming and heed to my every command.

"They lack emotions and would only make logical decisions when it comes down to it, this could lead to the loss of many lives since they lack emotional intelligence." Batman quarried.

"I know, but creating an artificial intelligence using these codes would give it a slight sense of personality and help it process or understand human emotions."

"Shut it down, it's too dangerous. Imagine such network and technology falling into the hands of someone like Brainiac, we can't take that risk." Batman said, dismissing Cyborg on the topic as he walked out of the lab.

"I'm quite aware of the dangers of a backlash, but I guess it's left for me to prove to everyone how much good this project could do if successful." Cyborg muttered, getting to work on using the schematics from the program he traced and try completing it into one of his own.

…

[Tom Hendricks POV]

*Ding Dong*….

Who the hell could that be this time of the night?" Jason asked, typing on his laptop. "Maybe it's that Selina chick, or maybe today is the day we finally get to meet Tom's girlfriend." Leo replied, putting on a devious smile on his face as he walked to the door.

"Or maybe it's just a delivery boy." Jason sarcastically replied, still typing on his laptop's keys.

Looking at the front door's security camera, he spotted a black haired sexy lady with an appealing presence, standing right at the other side of the door. "You never seem to disappoint me, kid." Leo remarked as it came to he came to the conclusion that the girls around Tom were often hotties.

Opening the front door, he stared at her with no visible expression on his face as he asked. "Who are you and how can I help you."

"Am a friend of Tom's, tell him Talia is here to see him." She replied.

"Talia huh." He muttered as he stared her down and up again. "Come in." He said as he stood by the side, holding the door while he watched her walk in.

Closing the door behind him, they walked into the living room. "Have a seat, I'll go tell him he has a guest." Leo said as he gestured for her to take a seat.

"There's a guest waiting for you at the living room." Gwen's voice broke the silence around Tom who was buried in some work.

Before Tom could ask the identity of his guest a knock came from his room's door which was wide open.

"Hey Tom, there's a chick in the living room looking for you." Leo informed, giving Tom a sly smirk before walking out, not saying anything else as Tom watched him with a cocked brow.

"If it isn't Selina then it's probably Rachel, but Leo would have told me if it was Selina and Rachel would have informed me if she was coming over.

"Gwen, identify my guest." Tom instructed, having his wrist raised close to his upper chest as he spoke into his watch.

"Talia Al Ghul, a.k.a Child of the Demon." Gwen replied, while Tom's expression morphed into a smirk. "I've been wondering when she would show up." He muttered before heading to the living room.

"What is she doing here?" Jason asked Tom while he glared daggers at Talia. "Believe me, I would also like to know." Tom replied as he looked over at Talia, expecting an answer.

"Relax Batboy, am just here for him." Talia said while looking at Tom without the slightest hint of hate or resentment in her eyes as is expected of her.

"I'm surprised you are still home, it's good to take a break every once in a while. Especially from your evening activities, try getting a complete eight hours sleep tonight and maybe it might relax your edgy nerves." He said to Jason who just stared at him for a few seconds, then slowly shook his head before walking away.

"Why don't we talk over a meal, I know a really good restaurant just downtown." Tom suggested, gesturing for Talia to follow him out the door.

"I knew you would come see me at some point, I just wasn't expecting you this soon." He said, opening the passenger door of his car for her to get in before he got in himself.

"Aren't you going to ask my reason for coming to see you?" She asked, looking over at Tom who just shook his head in reply before starting the engine and driving off.

The restaurant we're headed is well known for their varieties of exquisite cuisines which just hits the spot when gulped down with red wine. "I could use some alcohol." She replied.

"We both could, that's why I would be ordering something mouth watering for you." Tom replied as he drove off deep into the city of Gotham. Stopping at a traffic light, Tom looked around the side of the road as he took note of a few things.

The alley ways looked a bit safe, although just the surface as he felt it might be a different case if a civilian was to go further. Since he established himself as a crime lord in the criminal underworld and started a new wave of organized crime, the crime rate dropped exponentially since the crime lords had their goons on a tight leech and won't act carelessly if Ghost didn't give the go ahead, or else they wanted to risk getting caught by Batman.

Leaving only the street crimes done by scumbags who operate in dark corners and indulge in petty crimes by harassing unfortunate people. To Red Hood, the police, and other night crusaders like Batman and Batgirl, these guys were up for the grabs.

"We are here." Tom calmly announced through the semi awkward ride to the restaurant. He hopped out and helped her with the car door.

As they approached the entrance to the restaurant, the tinted glass doors slide open and they were greeted by a receptionist before being led to their seats.

"Allow me." Tom said as he pulled back Talia's chair, having her take her seat before taking his. "Not that I don't appreciate it but there's no need to act like such a gentleman, this isn't a date."

"I don't know, it kinda feels like a date to me." Tom replied, as he went over the menu. Signaling for a waiter, he made orders for their meals then turned to see a slight hint of curiosity on Talia's expression.

"What's up with you all of a sudden?" He casually asked the beauty staring at him without saying anything. "Why didn't you use your powers with the car door and the chair, I don't see the need for the manual labor when you could do them with nothing but just a thought.

"Relying too much on such convenience could almost make you forget the satisfying feeling you get from accomplishing a task, or maybe I just wanted to enjoy the process." He replied, leaving her to digest his words as an appetizer before the actual meal.

"Oh, our food is here." He exclaimed as he watched the meal brought and placed on their table. "Now that the food is here, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

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