Meanwhile in Gotham.
Night had already begun settling over the city by the time Max and Terra arrived at their destination.
They now stood in front of a luxurious mansion located in one of Gotham's high-income districts.
Terra looked up at the massive building.
"You didn't tell me we were visiting royalty," she said.
"This is just a front," Max replied calmly.
As if on cue, the iron gate slid open with a quiet mechanical hum.
They walked up the long path toward the entrance.
Before either of them could knock, the massive wooden doors opened on their own.
Standing before them was a tall, elegant woman.
Lady Shiva.
She studied Max briefly before speaking.
"You must be Max. Pain has instructed me to accompany you from this point."
"Lead the way then," Max said.
She stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.
Max and Terra walked inside as Shiva closed the doors behind them.
The interior of the mansion looked pristine—clean and well maintained, despite the fact that it clearly wasn't used as a residence.
Shiva led them downstairs to the basement.
She placed her hand against an inconspicuous section of the wall.
A low mechanical rumble echoed through the room.
The wall slowly parted open, revealing a hidden elevator.
The three of them stepped inside.
The elevator descended.
One minute passed,then two,then three.
By the time five full minutes had passed, Terra realized something important.
They were very deep underground.
When the doors finally opened, she immediately understood this was no ordinary hideou,It was a base.
Massive steel corridors stretched outward in multiple directions, filled with advanced technology and armed guards standing watch at every corner.
"This…" Terra whispered.
"…is under Gotham?"
Shiva continued walking.
They eventually arrived at a large reinforced door guarded by two armed men.
She placed her hand on a biometric scanner.
The door unlocked with a heavy metallic click.
"He is inside," she said.
Max nodded.
He and Terra stepped through the doorway.
Inside, the room looked surprisingly calm.
At the center of the chamber, a man with black hair and wearing a mask sat cross-legged on a mat.
Across from him sat another familiar figure.
They were playing chess.
Terra blinked.
"Zetsu?"
Zetsu turned toward her and smiled.
"Oh hey, what's up," he said casually. "It's been a while."
Terra looked around the room in confusion before turning to Max.
"What is this place?"
"It's my base," Max replied simply.
Terra stared at him in shock.
Max gestured toward the man sitting on the mat.
"And this is Pain," he said.
"The one who runs it for me."
He paused.
"This is how I'm rich. The money comes from this organization."
Pain stood up and walked toward them alongside Zetsu.
"We finally meet," he said, extending his hand.
Terra shook it cautiously.
"Take off the mask," Max said.
Pain nodded.
Slowly, he removed it.
What layed beneath was the face of Deadshot.The same face he had at the time of his death which hadn'taged even a day.
Black piercings lined his chin and the bridge of his nose.
But that wasn't what shocked Terra the most.
His eyes were identical to Max's.The Rinnegan.
"How…?" Terra muttered.
Max noticed her confusion.
"He doesn't possess the Rinnegan," Max said.
"Then why do his eyes look like yours?" Terra asked.
"That's just the side effect of sharing his vision with Max," Zetsu explained casually.
"In simple terms… he's a puppet."
Terra stared at them.
" You can even control dead bodies?"
"Yes," Max replied.
"It's one of the abilities of these eyes."
"I can also assign one or two of their abilities to the body."
He nodded toward Pain.
Pain raised his hand.
His arm transformed instantly into a mechanical cannon.
Then it shifted back to normal.
"Wow…" Terra muttered.
"The trade-off," Max continued, "is that I can't use the ability I assign to it."
"With this technique, I can control up to six bodies."
"But at the moment, I only have two."
He gestured toward Pain.
"So Pain is basically me."
"My will."
Terra slowly processed the information.
"Why did you create this organization though?"
"Come here," Max said.
He opened a door leading to a balcony overlooking the lower levels of the base.
They stepped outside.
Terra immediately leaned forward.
"Wow…"
The drop below was enormous.
Far beneath them were interlocking steel corridors filled with movement.
Above them hung a massive metal training platform.
Hundreds of fighters were sparring and drilling under the watchful eye of a single figure.
A bald man stood at the center, overseeing the training.
Ra's al Ghul.
"I didn't create this organization," Max said.
"Huh?" Terra asked.
"I took it over," Max replied.
"And improved it."
He pointed toward Ra's.
"From that man down there."
"Who is he?" Terra asked.
"His name is Ra's al Ghul,an extremist who once believed humanitycouldn'tbe trusted with its own survival so he created this organization to trim thise he deems the weak and guide humanityfoward from the shadows through selected assassination."
Max paused.
"Of course… to ensure his obedience, I gave him something."
Terra squinted down at him.
"Is that why he's bald?" she asked. "Because damn… his head is shining."
Max chuckled.
"You'd be surprised."
"But why though?" Terra asked. "Did you do it for the money?"
"Partly," Max said.
"But the real reason is this."
He looked out across the underground complex.
"This world is broken, Terra...
It needs fixing,And I can't do it alone."
He gestured toward the warriors training below.
"The first step was removing the filth that prisons couldn't keep locked away."
"Sure… I could do it myself and no one could stop me.Not even the Justice League.But they would still try."
"So I built something this."
"An organization that could do it quietly."
"While Pain deals with the filth…"
"…I guide everything from the shadows."
He glanced at her.
"I'm the reason there has been a shift in America's justice system."
Terra stared at him.
"Wow…"
She shook her head slowly.
"That's… a lot to take in."
"I originally planned to show both of you," Max said.
"But since Thena isn't here…"
"…I decided to show you first."
Terra looked down toward the warriors again.
"So this is where we'll be training?"
"Yes," Max said.
"You'll train with them in hand-to-hand combat."
He pointed toward the fighters below.
"The Shadows."
"I'll also help you develop your abilities."
He looked at her seriously.
"I might even teach you a few techniques inspired by my Earth-style jutsu."
Terra raised an eyebrow.
Max smirked slightly.
"I hope you're ready."
"Because the training will be intense."
And just like that, a month passed.
S.T.A.R. Labs.
Superman landed outside the facility and was met by Lois, who gave him a playful glare.
"You said two minutes tops. What happened to that?" she asked.
"Sorry, Miss Lane. Got held up,tech-enhanced gang kidnapping the mayor, and a few other distractions," Superman replied as they walked inside.
"I know. I saw it live," Lois said.
"Your story on Superman helped me earn people's trust," he said. "Now I want them to learn more about the Kryptonian tech that brought me to Earth."
They walked deeper into the facility and arrived at the section where a group of scientists were studying Superman's ship.
Superman stepped forward and placed his hand on it. The door slid open.
"And here is the compartment that carried me as an infant and provided everything I needed," he said.
Lois looked inside.
"How did they even do all of this?"
"I've only studied some of Kryptonian technology so far, which is why I handed it over to Dr. Clyburn and her team," Superman replied.
"Which we were more than happy to take on," Dr. Clyburn said. "We recently discovered these highly condensed ionized crystals. They seem to act as a fuel source."
Superman nodded, then glanced at Lois.
"You might want to look away for a second."
Lois stepped back slightly.
Superman placed his hand on one of the crystals. It began to glow, and a hologram appeared.
"Identity confirmed. Kal-El."
A second figure started forming beside it.
"I am the phy-phys-"
The image glitched violently.
"What's going on?" Lois asked.
"I don't know," Superman replied.
The hologram distorted again, then stabilized.
This time, a different figure appeared. It had a large head and a thin frame, standing still as it looked directly at Superman.
"Who are you?" Superman asked.
The figure paused.
"I am Brainiac."
End of Chapter. ,
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