Diana became silent for a while before speaking.
"Where is Max?" she asked at last.
Nina looked at her for a moment, then exhaled softly.
"Max?" she repeated. "He's… far away. Far enough that you could consider him to be off planet "
"But don't worry," Nina added calmly. "He'll return when he's finished with his business there."
"I see…" Diana said after a brief pause.
The weight of the day finally caught up to her. She straightened, rolling her shoulders as fatigue crept into her posture.
"It's getting late. Today has been… exhausting. I should go."
"Let me help you," Nina said.
She stood and placed a hand gently on Diana's shoulder.
The world blurred.
In the next instant, they were standing outside the estate gates, the night air cool and quiet around them.
Diana let out a short breath, glancing around.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that."
Nina allowed herself a faint smile.
"Give it time."
"I'll come by tomorrow," Diana said, lifting slightly off the ground. "When I can."
"We'll be waiting," Nina replied.
Diana nodded once , then surged skyward, a thunderous blast of air marking her departure as she disappeared into the clouds.
Nina watched until the sound had faded.
A figure emerged silently from the shadows behind Nina.
"Nina."
She turned, already recognizing the presence.
"Lady Shiva," Nina said calmly. "Pain sent you, I presume?"
"Yes," Shiva replied.
Nina didn't bother with pleasantries.
"What did he say?"
"He instructed me to inform you that you are to leave the Joker to him," Shiva said evenly. "The matter will be dealt with soon. He also asked that I confirm whether they are unharmed."
"I see." Nina nodded once. "They are fine, and he need not worry. I will not act."
She paused, then narrowed her eyes slightly.
"But I must ask—why didn't he come in person to tell me this?"
The question lingered in the air.
Shiva answered without hesitation. "Pain is not feeling well these days. I am acting on his behalf."
Nina hummed softly in realization.
That made sense.
Pain, while semi-autonomous, was still tethered to Max. When Max was too far away like in another timeline,Pain became sluggish, weakened. Hell was no different. If anything, it was worse.
So that's why he sent her.
"I understand," Nina said at last. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes." Shiva met her gaze. "He also requested Zetsu."
Nina shook her head. "Zetsu is not present at the moment. I will inform him when he returns."
"That will suffice," Shiva said, turning away. "Then I shall take my leave."
"Safe travels," Nina replied.
Shiva took two steps then paused.
"And one more thing," Nina added. "This conversation never happened. You don't know me. I don't know you."
Shiva turned back, expression unreadable.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.
Then she vanished into the shadows.
"Neither do I," Nina murmured.
And a moment later, she vanished as well.
---
Lady Shiva moved through the night without a sound, leaping from rooftop to rooftop toward the rendezvous point where a helicopter awaited,one that would take her back to Nanda Parbat.
Her body moved on autopilot, precise and practiced, while her mind was elsewhere, deep in thought.
The tone Pain had used when instructing her to inquire about the condition of Max's daughters lingered in her thoughts. It hadn't been detached or purely directive. It had sounded… concerned. Personal. As if their well-being mattered to him.
And then there was Nina.
The warning Nina had delivered,forced Lady Shiva to consider possibilities she did not like.
One possibility was that Pain was working with Nina, and that Max's daughters were meant to play a role in whatever plan he was setting in motion, which would explain his interest in their condition.
Another was that Nina herself was working for Pain.
A third, more disturbing thought followed: that Pain might be working for Max.
And then there was the final possibility,one she could not dismiss,that Pain was somehow directly related to Max. No one in Nanda Parbat had ever seen Pain's true face. That absence alone made the idea plausible.
None of these possibilities were comforting because no one knew Pain's final goal,for all they know,taking out villians may just be a first step in the grand scheme of things.
White House
The room was thick with noise.
Arguments overlapped as raised voices clashed across the long table. Aides whispered urgently into phones while dozens of landlines rang without pause. Along the walls, massive screens displayed frozen footage of Jump City,collapsed towers, a glowing crater, rescue teams dwarfed by devastation.
At the head of the table, the President stood.
"This has to be done."
"Madam President," one of the senior advisers said carefully, "with all due respect this is not the right time to do this."
"Then when is the right time?" she shot back. "After another city is erased? After another madman or the Joker again kills millions?"
A different official leaned forward. "We can shelve this for now while we stabilize the situation. Pushing this legislation through risks tearing the country in half. Some will support it. Others won't. And those who won't,will riot. The last thing we need is civil unrest on top of this."
"I'm aware of the consequences," the President said evenly. "And I'm prepared to bear them for the good of the country."
The head of legal affairs shook her head. "This law will be challenged the moment you announce it. Civil rights organizations will mobilize. Our allies will condemn us. History will remember you as the president who normalized state executions."
"Then let history remember that I acted," the President replied. "Because this will happen."
The room fell quiet.
Slowly, eyes turned toward General Lane.
He had been silent for hours,listening, weighing, saying nothing. Normally, he was the one who could pull the President back when her resolve hardened into something immovable.
The silence stretched.
Then he spoke.
"I agree with Madam President."
Several heads snapped toward him.
"Joker murdered millions today," Lane continued, his voice steady but iron-hard. "Returning him to a cell is an insult to every life lost.He needs to be terminated. Permanently."
A murmur rippled through the room.
"Other nations already have statutes like this in place," Lane went on. "They've been effective. What happened today already makes us a laughingstock on the world stage.One man commits an act of terror on this scale, and we will pretend containment is enough? Preposterous."
He folded his arms.
"That's why I support this,despite its bad timing."
The room remained silent.
"Thank you, General," the President said.
Uneasy glances passed between the officials.
"We are going live."
"Madam President," one adviser pleaded one last time, "please,reconsider this."
"That's an order, Stenz," the President replied, her voice icy.
"Yes, Madam President," he said, backing down.
---
Moments Later
Cameras were rolled into position. Lights flared on. Makeup artists surrounded the President as she adjusted her sleeves, steadying herself.
Then her pocket vibrated.
She waved the staff away and pulled out a burner phone. A single message glowed on the screen no sender or identifier.
She already knew who it was from.
Pain.
Her jaw tightened as she read the words scrolling across the display:
[Tick-tock, Madam President. Tick-tock.]
She closed the phone slowly, slipping it back into her pocket. She hated the pressure. Hated the timing.
But she understood the angle.
Strike while the iron is hot.
An aide stepped forward. "Everything is ready, Madam President. Shall we proceed?"
"Yes," she said.
"Going live in five… four… three… two… one."
---
Across the nation, televisions flickered on. Phones were lifted. Protests stalled mid-chant as massive digital billboards,mounted along the sides of skyscrapers,switched to the President's image.
The country held its breath.
The President clasped her hands together and took a slow breath.
"My fellow Americans," she began, "tonight, our nation mourns."
She paused.
"We mourn the lives lost in Jump City. Innocent men, women, and children,whose only crime was believing they were safe."
Her voice remained steady, but the weight behind it was unmistakable.
"I extend my deepest condolences to every family affected by this tragedy. May the lost find peace, and may the living find strength in the days ahead. I promise you this: my administration will do everything in its power to support the survivors and rebuild the homes that were destroyed."
She straightened.
"Now, to the heart of the matter."
"This was not a crime. It was an act of terrorism,a deliberate, calculated attempt to inflict mass suffering for spectacle alone,carried out by the Joker."
A murmur rippled through crowds across the country.
"Thanks to the courage of first responders, and the tireless efforts of our protectors,including Superman, Batman, and countless others,further catastrophe was prevented."
She paused again.
"But tonight, we must confront a difficult truth."
"Our systems were not designed for threats like this."
"We have repeat offenders on American soil who view imprisonment as an inconvenience or a temporary pause between atrocities. Justice must be firm. Justice must be lawful. And above all,justice must protect the innocent."
Her eyes hardened.
"That is why, after consultation with national security leaders, I will be introducing emergency legislation to Congress tomorrow."
"The National Extraordinary Threat Containment Act."
"This measure is narrow. It is targeted. And it applies only to the most extreme cases,individuals designated as catastrophic domestic terrorists."
She leaned slightly forward.
"Let me be clear: this is not about vengeance."
"It is about ensuring that no family ever has to ask why someone was murdered for amusement,and why the murderer was given the chance to do it again."
"Our values are not weakness but they are worth defending."
"We will grieve. We will rebuild. And we will ensure that justice protects the living."
"May God bless you all."
"And may God bless the United States of America "
End of Chapter
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