“I still can’t believe there is such a world,” she said softly.

“Yeah,” Max replied, leaning back. “I had it rough, but someone always has it worse. That thought kept me moving. And everything I went through… made me who I am.”

Diana’s eyes lowered, thoughtful.

“We all learn the hard way eventually,” she murmured. “I suppose hardship is the one teacher no one can escape.”

“That I can agree with,” Max said

“I can share my own experiences with you, if you’d like,” Diana offered gently.

Max smirked. “I don’t think there’s a need to.”

Her brows rose. “And why not?”

“I make it my business to know things,” he said cryptically.

“How?” she pressed.

“That,” he said, tapping the table once, “is a secret.”

Diana narrowed her eyes at him, lips curling in mild irritation.

“I’m starting to think you’re not thirty-eight at all.”

“Maybe I’m not. Who knows?” he said with a shrug. “But I can tell you—if you defeat me.”

She scoffed immediately. “Oh, forget it.”

“What’s the matter? I thought you’d relish the challenge, Princess,” he teased.

“Every time we’ve fought, it didn’t exactly end well for me,” she said, crossing her arms. “And in all those times weren’t even using your full strength, were they?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Hard to say.” His grin was infuriatingly smug.

She shook her head, a quiet laugh slipping out despite herself.

“Either way, I’m still getting stronger. And one day, I will beat you.”

“That only happens if I stop training,” Max said. “Which I won’t.”

Diana tilted her head. “Why? Other than gods, I don’t think there is any mortal alive stronger than you.”

Max’s gaze dropped to the table for a moment his expression shifting.

“I’d like to believe that’s true,” he said quietly. “But I know it’s not. There are beings out there who can erase me with a thought.

“That wouldn’t bother me too much if I was alone,” Max continued. “Everyone dies eventually. But now…”

He hesitated, then lifted his eyes to meet hers.

“But i’ve got a family. Daughters. People who depend on me. When they entered my life strength stopped being an obsession and became a requirement.”

Something warm flickered in Diana’s chest.

“…You really care about them, don’t you?” she asked softly.

“More than anything,” Max replied

“Funny enough ,I just recently gotten to know Thena,but she is already the most important thing in my life,who would have known that one day, I would have a child to call my own” Diana said.

“I never knew too but that’s just how it is now” max said.

.

There was a moment of awkwardness,the only thing being heard being the ticking of the clock on the wall.

And that was exactly when—

CREEEEAK.

A floorboard betrayed a presence.

Both Max and Diana glanced toward the hallway.

Three heads instantly disappeared behind the wall.

Max pinched the bridge of his nose. “…Seriously?”

Diana hid a smile behind her hand.

A whisper hissed through the corridor.

“I told you to stay quiet!” Nina whispered harshly.

“I WAS quiet!” Thena hissed back.

“You stepped on the squeaky one!” Terra whispered accusingly.

“I didn’t step on anything! That was you! I saw it!”

Max groaned. “I can hear all of you.”

Silence.

Then a tiny, guilty “…oops.”

Diana bit her lip to keep from laughing.As max glared but the small curve of his lip betrayed his anger.

Diana’s expression softened as she glanced at the window, catching the faint glow of the moon.

“It’s late,” she murmured.

Max blinked, following her gaze. The night had settled deep enough that even the crickets outside had gone quiet.

“Oh… yeah, we’ve been talking longer than I thought,” Max said.

“I should get going now,” Diana replied.

“I can teleport you there if you want,” Max offered.

Diana glanced at the dress she was wearing, realizing that even though it was nighttime, flying in it wouldn’t be the best idea. She smiled. “Then I’ll trouble you.”

“Take my hand,” Max said, holding it out.

A faint flicker of crimson colored Diana’s face. “Is this necessary?”

“Not exactly… but it makes things easier,” Max replied.

Diana took his hand, and with a soft woosh, they disappeared.

In the hallway, Thena, Terra, and Nina emerged.

“See? See? They’re totally getting along,” Thena said.

“Yeah, we all saw it, Thena,” Terra said dryly.

“Yeah… thanks to you, I have some explaining to do when Max gets back,” Nina said.

“Sorry about that,” Thena chuckled.

“But I must say, it was totally worth it,” Nina added with a smirk.

“Now both of you—bed. Now!” she said sternly.

“Aye, aye!” Thena and Terra saluted as they walked toward their rooms, while Nina followed Thena. She needed some rest after a long day.

———————-

Max appeared beside Diana on the roof of a small building in Washington. The city below was quiet, bathed in the soft silver light of the rising moon.

“It’s… nice, isn’t it?” Diana murmured, her gaze fixed on the horizon.

“It is,” Max replied, following her line of sight.

“Thanks… for the evening,” Diana said, turning to look at him. “I guess you could call it a… date.”

Max allowed a small smile. “I think it was nice, too.”

Diana tilted her head, a playful glint in her eyes. “Tell Nina for me that she has some explaining to do when I see her.”

“I will,” Max replied, smirking slightly.

Diana took a step closer to the edge of the building, letting the wind catch at her hair. “I enjoyed our evening. I got to learn a lot about you… and you’re not so bad, after all, despite what you make yourself out to be.” She looked at him, soft but teasing. “I’ll be taking you up on your offer to spar sometime.”

Max blinked, caught off guard. “When did I say that? Unless… Nina—”

“I’ll get you for this… just you wait,” he muttered, shaking his head as he also vanished from view.

Hours later

Nanda Parbat

Pain pushed open the door to his quarters. The nine assassins who had accompanied him remained outside, stationed to guard him. He closed the door behind him and slowly removed his mask, revealing stark white hair.

That’s right—this was Slade’s corpse that Max had been using. When he had taken it over, he discovered it was significantly better suited to his purposes than Deadshot’s body, which felt too rigid, too constraining. He had even considered discarding it,but decided against it. The body now held a certain sentimental value. Ditching it now would raise suspicions; the League already associated him with his black-haired appearance and besides,it was alive now.who knows if he was going to be able to replicate what he did with deadshot’s body with it because he might have just been lucky last time..

Max transferred his control back to the original Pain, who had been resting on a futon. Slade’s body collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. Pain walked over and propped it upright, observing the hollow, lifeless figure.

Then, with a sudden, terrifying motion, the King of Hell emerged from the ground and swallowed it whole.

His first plan,taking control of the U.S. government was complete. Now, all that remained was to follow the next step.

End of chapter

Sorry for the short today chapter,I was sleepy as hell when i wrote it.

End of Chapter

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