A DRUNKEN MESS

[Night]

Bruce sat before the pieces of the ancient armor, Suit of Sorrows. It was stained in Ra's blood and flesh. Bruce used the analyzer and checked the suit thoroughly.

"Jarvis, give me something," He ordered the AI.

Jarvis replied almost immediately, "Analyzing... Suits composition... Ancient metal alloy found... Unknown material... Strange symbols embedded... Armor durability... Incredible... Energy reading... High... Scanning complete..."

Bruce looked at the result shown before him as Jarvis spoke again, "Suit of Sorrows seems to have a unique ability to absorb its victim's energy force and increase its power. But what's this supposed voice that drives its wearer insane? According to the comics, Fox said something like it's having two brains in a single body, enough to drive anyone insane. But is it really some possessed soul or magic or something else entirely..."

He began to examine each part very closely. He rubbed the runes with his fingers and noticed them gleam slightly. He touched the helmet last. When he touched it, suddenly a mysterious voice rang out in his mind.

<KILL... KILL... KILL THEM ALL...>

Bruce's expression remained stoic as he used his nails to scrape the surface, and what he saw underneath the armor plating made him shake his head with a smile. He saw circuits, but not your ordinary ones. These circuits were way ahead of current technology. They looked futuristic. Even from the point of view of a tech expert like him, these circuits looked alien to him. He scanned them closely, but the materials didn't belong to Earth.

"So, it's not magic nor a possessed soul... It's technology after all... Alien technology. As for the voice, if I'm not wrong, it must be an AI, capabilities unknown," He muttered as he analyzed each circuit closely.

He scraped the armor plating of the helmet and revealed the internal part containing the main parts. He was surprised to see that someone in the past managed to develop such an incredible piece of technology. A super AI entity that runs on human vitality and in exchange gives its wearer power. The only problem lies in the fact that it drives people insane.

Bruce wondered if he should use it or destroy it. The reason was simple, he didn't exactly have a good experience with unshackled AI entities. Ultron proved how dangerous they could be. This AI is already dangerous and might become a bigger threat if left unchecked. But the metal, well, that's another matter. The metal alone is as precious as Vibranium, or at least close to it. He can conduct further experiments on it and might be able to extract its original properties, then create a synthetic metal equivalent to vibranium.

Even without the AI, it's already a great discovery.

He thought for quite some time before coming to a decision. Bruce chose to keep the metal and destroy the AI. 'Something that might cause unnecessary damage is better destroyed.'

A few hours later...

Bruce managed to separate the metal from the AI's circuitry using his nanites. Then, he had the nanites to eat them up and evolve to the next stage. As for the experiment, he stored a big piece inside the ring. Then, he put the alien tech before his eyes and used his heat vision to melt it. The entity crackled up with sparks of electricity and a weird red smoke, before turning into dust.

"Well, that's that. At least I got something out of it," He thought as he walked out of the room and leaned on the balcony, looking at the night sky. "Hey, Skylar. How's that ring doing? Is the soul awake?" He asked the lady in the lightning ring.

Skylar replied with a slight sigh, "She's still in hibernation mode. That Reverse Flash guy tried to awaken her, but as stubborn as she is, she must have activated her defense mechanism and entered hibernation mode. She will probably wake up in a month or two. Probably, earlier, can't say for sure."

Bruce nodded and sighed inwardly, "No rush."

"So, how far are you from developing a clone body for me?" Skylar asked curiously.

Bruce smiled at her question.

"Almost there, Sky. Just wait for a bit more."

.

.

While Bruce was busy plotting his next move...

Talia invited Diana for a drink. Nyssa and a few other league members, including the Seven Men of Death were also present there, drinking and eating. With Ra's gone, their allegiance falls under Bruce's rule now. As for Nyssa, after seeing her father's pitiful death, she decided to give Bruce a chance and see the changes he was about to bring. But her rivalry with her sister is still on.

"Alcohol from men's land won't get me drunk easily, sister. You know that," Diana remarked as she gulped down the drink from the glass.

"Oh yeah, wanna bet?" Talia smirked and took out a bottle of special alcohol that Ra's brewed and is considered one of the strongest alcohol ever created by mankind. It was aged for hundreds of years, so, there's that.

Diana raised her eyebrow when she saw the bottle Talia was holding.

"Father kept this special alcohol away for hundreds of years. Not even us sisters knew where he hid them until now," Talia explained with a smile. "I managed to find them while cleaning the League's treasury. Father hid them pretty well, I'll give you that. Even I would take a long time to find them if I didn't happen to stumble upon it by accident."

"Hit me," Both Diana and Nyssa replied together as they held out their glasses. Talia chuckled and poured some of the drink into their glasses.

Nyssa drank the whole thing in one go, and her head swayed before she fell face-first onto the table.

"One down," Talia remarked with a chuckle as Diana rolled her eyes and gulped down her drink too.

She was about to fall like Nyssa but managed to maintain herself and remain conscious. However, she felt like her head was spinning and her face was flushed. 'How long has it been since I got drunk?' Diana thought as Talia filled her glass once again.

The league members around watched silently with smiles as the three ladies started getting drunk.

"So, what do you think about Bruce?" Talia asked Diana as she refilled her glass.

Diana accepted the drink and gulped it down once again. Her face flushed even more as she replied, "He's different from everyone, in a good way. I like him."

"Oh, just like him?" Talia raised her brows with amusement. Finally, she'll be able to learn more about Bruce's personal life from this drunken lady before her.

Diana nodded and gulped down another glass full of alcohol.

"Then, do you love him?" Talia asked with a teasing tone.

Diana replied after some thought, "Love... I doubt he sees me that way. Besides, he has Seliana and Pamela. Both are beautiful and strong. What do I have compared to them?"

Talia listened quietly and realized Diana likes Bruce. But sadly, Diana doubts herself and doesn't believe Bruce will return her feelings.

"Do you want to seduce him?" Talia asked with a mischievous smile.

"Seduction doesn't work on that dense of a man. Even Pamela's seducing pheromone was useless against him. What makes you think mine will work?" Diana shook her head with a helpless sigh.

"Really? Is Pamela a metahuman?" Talia asked curiously.

Diana nodded and explained, "I have no idea. But she can control plants and all. Don't know how she does that, but she's a strong sparring partner."

"And who else is strong? Other than Pamela. I'm sure you have more friends..."

"Well, Yeah, but only Bruce and Pamela were able to keep up with me till now. Then this weird alien... What did he call them? Yeah, Kryptonian named Clark. He's also strong. Then there's a Kryptonian Girl, she's also strong, probably stronger than Clark. Oh, yeah, Selina too! She's strong. Although she uses gadgets more than fighting barehanded," Diana slurred as she listed many names of powerful people.

Diana in her drunken state blurted some useful information to Talia, including their battles and their fight with the Kryptonians in the space. But the rest of her babble was all about how she and Selina stole Bruce's car to race and how much she loved Bruce. Oh, she also babbled about how much she loves Maggie's cooking, especially when she makes ice cream and cakes.

'She's an innocent mess,' Talia thought as she listened to Diana's babble with a smile. 'Well, Mr. Wayne. Should I send you a gift to keep you busy, tonight?'

"Say, Diana. Do you want to seduce Bruce?" Talia asked again with a smile.

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Next, Ch: 146: Diana's decision

Ch: 147: Catfight

Ch: 148: Unshackled

Ch: 149: Talia's first love & pleasure

Ch: 150: The Mastermind

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