章節 17: Break Time!

Yo! Been awhile, for me? long time....long time. Ah, my grammar mistakes, been missing those too...

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In the depths of the Batcave, beneath the sprawling city of Gotham, Jorno Jovanna sat lazily on a couch, munching on a plate of scones. Beside him, the flickering light of Wayne-tech illuminated the cavernous space, casting long shadows across the walls. The calm, cool environment contrasted with the tension building outside as the world teetered on the edge of apocalypse.

"So... how does it work?" Jorno asked, his tone casual, as he sipped on his favorite black tea, steeped perfectly by Alfred with far too much sugar—just the way he liked it.

Across from him, Bartholomew Henry Allen, better known as The Flash, was adjusting the fit of his brand-new suit. It was sleek, red, and brimming with Wayne-tech upgrades. Barry looked up, excitement shining in his eyes.

"Oh! Right, I only explained it to Batman," Barry said, grinning sheepishly. "Think of it like this: I tap into an energy source called the Speed Force—kind of like an infinite battery I can use to run super fast. But the trick is, using it takes energy from me. If I get too tired, I can't draw from it anymore."

Jorno nodded, digesting the information while munching on another scone. "Cool." He sipped his tea again, nonchalantly processing the idea of super-speed as if it were everyday news. "So, what do you do? Are you also just... rich?" Barry asked hesitantly, unsure if Batman's mysterious sidekick had more to offer than just wealth.

Jorno smirked at the question. "Complicated. Just watch this." He pointed toward the empty air in front of him. Instantly, his Stand, King of the Clouds, materialized, its invisible hands rapidly compressing the surrounding air. With a sharp snap of his fingers, the compressed air was released, causing a shockwave that reverberated through the cave. The force was controlled, far enough from them to avoid damaging any of Batman's precious equipment.

"Wow..." Barry blinked, his mind whirring to life, already analyzing the mechanics behind the ability. "You compressed the air and then suddenly decompressed it, creating a shockwave... that's insane control! Talk about power!"

Jorno scratched his head awkwardly, not used to praise. "...Thanks?" he muttered.

For the next few minutes, the two continued chatting, exchanging stories of their abilities, until Victor Stone, aka Cyborg, walked in. He awkwardly approached the couch, scanning the room with his mechanical eye.

"Hey," Victor greeted, sitting down on the couch, his large frame making it sag slightly.

Jorno, feeling the shift in energy, groaned. "...Alright, I'm getting tired of you two ruining my mood. Speedy, meet Robot. Robot, meet Speedy." He motioned between Barry and Victor, trying to break the ice between them.

Barry waved, "Hey, man. Heard a lot about you."

Victor nodded with a weak smile. "Yeah, same."

The room went silent for a beat as they tried to find common ground. Finally, Victor turned to Jorno, trying to spark a conversation. "So... did you ever tell your dad about what happened?"

Jorno shook his head as he grabbed another scone. "Nah, he already knew. I didn't even say anything, and he guessed it perfectly."

Barry's eyebrows shot up. "Wait... he guessed that the android's high-tech encrypted conversation with you was important?"

Jorno nodded, smirking. "Yep, crazy, huh?"

Victor leaned back, chuckling. "That's Bat-Logic for you. Batman can piece together everything based on the smallest clues. The Gotham Police Department has a whole folder of it—they just call it 'Bat-Guesses' now."

Jorno laughed along. "Glad to see it's not just me," he said, smacking away Barry's hand as it crept toward his plate of scones. "Back off, Speedy."

"Ow..." Barry winced, rubbing his hand. "Not all of us have butlers bringing us snacks, you know."

The three of them fell into a more relaxed conversation, the tension from earlier melting away. They exchanged quips and stories, bonding over their shared experiences working with Batman and dealing with the overwhelming threats looming over the world.

As the chatter continued, it became clear that this moment of respite was brief—a calm before the storm. Despite the lighthearted banter, the looming threat of Grayven, Steppenwolf, and the ticking clock of their three-day ultimatum hung over them like a dark cloud.

Victor's expression turned more serious. "You know, we don't have a lot of time before everything goes sideways."

Barry nodded. "Yeah, and we don't have much to go on besides resurrecting Superman. That's the plan, right?"

Jorno, finishing his tea, stared at the glowing Batcomputer screen across the room, displaying the countdown until Grayven's deadline. "That's the only plan we've got."

Victor looked down at his hands, his mind calculating the risks and possibilities. "If we pull this off... it's going to be close. Superman was powerful, but reviving him with the Motherbox is unpredictable."

Jorno shrugged. "I mean, what could go wrong, right?"

The other two stared at him for a moment before Barry chuckled. "You say that now..."

Victor stood up, stretching his mechanical limbs. "I'm gonna run some more diagnostics on the Motherbox. We need to be sure this works before we try anything."

Barry followed suit, adjusting his suit's collar. "And I'll do a few test runs with the new suit. Can't afford to slow down when the world's at stake."

As the two headed off, Jorno remained on the couch, grabbing the last scone. He looked up at the massive Batcave, the walls echoing the distant sounds of Bruce Wayne working in another section of the cave.

With a quiet sigh, Jorno whispered to himself, "Guess we're really doing this." Maybe it was a delusion he weaved truly believing he was actually, Mr. Wayne's son but he really wasn't fond of Superman.

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[Auther: Alright, it's been far too long, I might make 1 more chapter and then it's back to MHA, and once that happens, I'll regain my motivation and start grinding again.]