Bab 87: Chapter 87 Fakes
Mount Justice
September 4, 14:56 EEST
"And, that's what happened". Miss Martian said in a low tone. Her right hand was placed on her left shoulder, rubbing it up and down slightly.
"I see". Batman said expressionlessly.
"And you are sure you didn't see the cause of it. Nothing?"
"No.....".
The image of Amari appeared in her mind.
"It..... It could be him. Like I said, I saw him earlier during my initial memory loss but at the time, I blacked out…. Nothing".
"It has to be him". Wally said abruptly, causing everyone to turn towards him.
"KF!"
Robin in particular was giving him a bat glare.
"What?" The speedster raised his hands.
"I mean, there were a bunch of dead bodies at the scene. That Psimon guy Megan talked about practically had his head blown up. Who else could it be".
Wally didn't feel like what he said was inappropriate. It was hard facts.
"The kid has a point.....". Hal, who stood at the side, uttered.
"Perhaps, but I didn't say he could speak". Batman added with narrowed eyebrows.
"Oh well". Hal shrugged, his arms crossed against his chest.
Wally's face fell.
"Moving on". Clark interjected.
Batman nodded before turning to his apprentice.
"Robin".
"The two hostages were found in a secret facility hidden underground. It was quite far from the registered area we were supposed to investigate. Stumbled upon it by chance and a little bit of luck".
Robin informed as holographic screens appeared in the air displaying pictures he had updated to the Cave's computer.
These were photos of the secret facility in Bialya.
"The number of personnel here wasn't much. At least not enough to assume they were guarding any important projects...".
The speech of the boy wonder made the eyebrows of the three heroes furrow.
Robin continued.
"..... And apart from the second mission objective, they weren't. The whole place was devoid of anything useful. No database with significant files attached to the computer systems, no secret projects going on underground. Just the missing Target's being held in cloning pods".
"So they aimed to clone the General and his daughter".
"Seems that way". The holograms disappeared.
"Apart from that, there was nothing else".
"I see". Batman nodded before sweeping his gaze across all of them.
"You've completed your mission. What we believed to be a simple task turned out to be something unexpected. It wasn't easy for you. Your lives were in danger the very moment you stepped foot in Bialya, you lost your memories and could have gotten killed..... But you preserved. You made it through and got the job done. External elements might have been involved, but it's all your luck. Even the league needs a little bit of that occasionally. Outstanding effort and good work. You're dismissed".
Bruce remarked candidly.
The trio looked at each other with different expressions before walking away from the mission hall.
As soon as their backs disappeared, Hal's easy-going expression finally had some changes.
"So we're dealing with this again?"
"It appears so". Bruce replied.
"I don't see what's there we have to deal with". Clark, however, saw it differently.
"What's with Amari always showing up in these places. It gives a headache really".
"About that….". Clark turned to face Batman.
"You said he wouldn't be there".
"That's what he told me". Bruce answered without any expression.
"And yet, he mysteriously appears. Why though?"
"Ok, I don't want to be that guy, but what are the chances that he wasn't the one". Hal couldn't help but ask.
"Psimon's information is in our database. His telepathic and telekinetic capabilities make him a powerful opponent. Not someone The Team could take down on their own".
Batman placed his hand on his chin.
"In a proper battle, perhaps Miss Martian stands a chance. The rest of them are simply at a disadvantage against a telepath. Especially Superboy. Add that to the fact that Metallo was present....". He didn't finish it.
"They aren't easy enemies to face, even for us".
"Correct. Then Miss Martian wakes up only to find a powered down cyborg and a dead telepath with his brain blown up. Ten times out of ten, this fits his style".
Honestly, Bruce would rather hope this was Amari's doing.
He would rather not have to investigate a new potential threat.
"Ok, but why". Hal asked with some puzzlement.
"I mean, he told you he wasn't going to be in Bialya. I can't say I know much about the guy, but he doesn't seem to be the kind to lie for the sake of it. Why would he change his mind?"
Hal's thinking was simple. Amari changed his mind.
There was no need for a conspiracy theory of some kind.
From the strength he demonstrated, the guy didn't need it.
And if he was lying, he wouldn't make his presence known.
"Miss Martian stated that he said he was looking for something". Clark frowned.
Amari was searching for something? Last time he wanted something, Clark got a cousin out of thin air.
"So what could this be? Is it possible he found it?"
"Why don't you go find him and ask?" Bruce asked with a raised eyebrow.
"....".
Hal almost choked. He remembered what happened the last time they went to 'inquire'.
Giovanni, who had all his magic drained out of him, was now the official host of Doctor Fate.
The previously high spirited Captain Marvel was now a depressed kid sitting in the hospital bed all day long.
"No thanks. I still have many years to live".
He uttered with a wave of his hand.
"In that case, we're blind on this?"
Clark felt slightly uncomfortable. To be honest, Superman had no prejudice towards the Deviant in question.
If not for the fact that Amari occasionally killed, and the fact that half the league was gone due to his indirect actions, his impression of him would actually be pretty good.
After all, he didn't harm the innocent. In a sense, they had something in common. They were both aliens who didn't belong to this world.
Clark always felt he was an excellent judge of character.
Amari didn't give the vibe of a villain or a mass murderer. The feeling he gave him was rather lax.
Nevertheless, he was still dangerous. Knowing he was up to something yet not knowing what it was what made him uncomfortable.
In simpler terms, they were far from the point of being irreconcilable.
"I have another theory". Bruce spoke up. "Although this one might be a little farfetched".
"Really? What is it?"
"Kara". Bruce faced Superman and replied with one word.
"What?" Clark was dumbfounded. What the hell did Batman mean by that?
"From what I can tell, Amari seems to have some sort of soft spot for your cousin".
Silence.
Neither of the three said a word.
Until...
"Bruce, you can't be serious". Hal was the first one to speak. His eyes were widened and he looked slightly incredulous.
"You are kidding, right?" Hal thought this was Bruce's bad pass for a possible joke.
"Do I Kidd?"
Oh! He wasn't kidding.
"You don't mean?" Nevertheless, He still couldn't resist asking.
"Like I said, it's a farfetched possibility, but I keep an open mind. A possibility, no matter how small, is still a possibility". Seeing the clear disbelief in Hal's eyes, Bruce didn't find it surprising.
"So you're saying.....". Clark's expression portrayed he was a bit lost in thought.
"That's right. If he was the one who killed Psimon, then the chances that he went to Bialya to protect Supergirl from possible harm isn't that farfetched anymore, is it?"
"Still, he doesn't strike me as that kind of person". Clark raised an eyebrow.
"What kind?"
"The kind that has emotions".
Amari was honestly a bit hard to explain. But from his actions and words, Clark could get an understanding.
Basically, he was like an ascetic monk with the words, 'Don't mess with me' written on his forehead.
His expression was almost always flat, and he seemed to care for nothing. Except for the occasional stuff that he found interesting.
"Like I said, this isn't definite. Just one of my deductions". Bruce wasn't trying to convince them he was right.
This was a theory that he was trying to verify. Amari literally stood by and watched as thousands of citizens were slain doing Gotham's extraterrestrial crisis.
Although Bruce didn't know exactly why he ultimately intervened, the fact that he was in Gotham while the chaos went on for several minutes showed that Amari's view on human life hadn't changed one bit.
Yet surprisingly, he intervened more than once on matters concerning Kara Zor-El. One, was when Superboy died.
Two, was during the parasite issue when she almost lost her life.
And this incident made it number three.
Once is random, twice, a coincidence, three times.... Of course, he wasn't sure of his conjecture. But the Caped Crusader was almost certain that Amari had a favorable attitude towards Kara than he did to the rest of the League.
Possible due to the time they spent together.
He was literally the first person she saw after the destruction of her planet.
"He could be there for Supergirl. Likewise, he could be there for someone else".
The sentence took a cold tone.
"Amari doesn't attack anyone unless he's provoked. This is what we have seen so far, so for him to kill Psimon....."
"That would insinuate that Psimon has acted against him".
Clark immediately grasped the key point.
"Possibly. It might be Psimon or, those he works for".
Batman had always suspected that a rogue organization was making moves behind the scene. An organization powerful enough to have a spy within the Justice League.
What happened today proved his conjecture.
The organization existed and the Justice League had a mole. He had confirmed the latter from Amari himself.
Amari appeared in Bialya, hung up Metallo and killed a telepath. This was no coincidence.
This meant that someone had stepped on his bottom line, and he was actively retaliating. The same people the league were looking for.
Clark's face grew solemn.
"The mysterious force that could arrange five ice-based villains to launch simultaneous attacks on the same day".
"Amari is hunting them?"
"Does this make our Job easier or harder?" Hal could help but ask.
"It doesn't matter". Bruce retorted. "We need to get to the bottom of this".
"That's easier said than done". Clark shook his head.
"We're short on manpower, Bruce, with too many things on our plate to worry about".
The matter of the dimensional breaches urgently needed their attention. The fact that Wonder Woman was still alive was another issue that required concern. Now, after a period of silence, this new addition was raising its ugly head.
"Maybe we should consider adding new recruits to our ranks".
Batman pondered and raised a suggestion.
Meanwhile, a certain blonde kryptonian heard their whole conversation from the Cave's Medical Bay.
...
Meanwhile, Back in Metropolis.
Staring out the glass window from his room in a luxury hotel, Lex Luthor had a frown on his face.
He wore a formal attire, but his suit had been taken off, tie removed, and his sleeves had been folded upward.
He stood in deep thought, both hands placed in his pockets.
"L-0". Lex called out.
"What can I do for you". The hologram of the Light Queen appeared behind him.
"What is the status of the two subjects".
"Status report, General Sam Lane and Miss Lois Lane have been admitted to a general hospital in Washington, DC".
".... And did they notice anything?"
"From the security feeds, they didn't. There's no suspicion on their actual identities".
"Good. Make sure to report once there are any changes". Lex's face turned to one of indifference.
"We can't let them realize that they are nothing but clones after all".
Looking out the window, a felt like he was about to face an impending crisis.
Amari was coming for them. No matter which angle he looked at it from, he couldn't help but feel panicked.
But he had other things to worry about now.
The Team had no idea that the people they had rescued were not the originals, but simply clones. The whole thing was a staged setup by The Light to sell the rescue well.
As for the true Sam and Lois Lane, they had already been disposed of.
"It's time to enter the next phase of our plan against the Justice league".
...
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