“Ah… Batman. Superman,” Pain said calmly. “I’ve been expecting you. Or rather,the entire roster to show up eventually. Especially after everything that’s happened… and our brief meeting before this, Batman.”

“Why are you doing this?” Superman demanded.

Pain tilted his head slightly. “You’ll have to be more specific. I do a lot of things. Also,please sit down. It’s quite rude to address a seated individual while standing.”

“Why are you targeting villains?” Batman asked.

Pain’s gaze shifted to Superman. “Still insisting on standing, I see. I’m sure Martha didn’t raise you this way, Superman. Though I suppose it’s more understandable in Batman’s case,given his… condition.”

Batman’s eyes narrowed. Superman stepped forward, heat vision flaring.

“If you ever-“

“I’ll stop you right there,” Pain said, raising a single finger. “I have no intention of harming your loved ones nor will i ever will. If I want to target you, I’ll come for you. There are countless ways to kill or cripple someone like you, none of them involve your loved ones. That applies to the entire League.”

A brief pause.

“Now, as for your question,first, I have no personal agenda against villains. So there’d be no reason for me to target them. Second…” Pain let out a soft, sarcastic chuckle. “Do you really need to ask why I would?”

“This will tear the country apart,” Batman said. “Riots. Chaos.”

Pain shrugged. “You make that sound like my problem. Resistance is expected,from the narrow‑minded. Still, I have to applaud the President. She finally did what should have been done years ago. It’s a shame a city had to nearly be destroyed for her resolve to harden.”

“you mean your resolve?,” Superman said coldly. “We know you’re threatening her from behind the scenes.”

“Still accusing me?” Pain replied. “Fine. I’ll play along. Though I don’t know why we’re even having this conversation. You should be relieved. You won’t have to deal with psychopaths anymore.”

“Because you’ll kill them?” Batman shot back. “And we’re supposed to be glad about murder?”

Pain’s expression hardened. “You’re misunderstanding me. I won’t kill anyone. The authorities will simply do their jobs. That’s all,though i was planning on doing it but it seems someone has a better alternative.”

He leaned forward slightly.

“I honestly don’t understand how your minds work. Millions of lives were lost recently. We were this close”,he pinched his fingers together,”to World War III with Russia. This close to losing Millions of lives in Starling City. Not to mention the consequences if Max’s daughters had died in that explosion.”

His voice dropped.

“And all you can think about is how the lives of individuals capable of that kind of atrocity are precious, no matter what they do.”

Pain shook his head. “We thought the Joker was a lunatic. But I’m starting to think you are ones too, you also need help.”

Wonder Woman is the only one on the League with a trace of rationality. How long that lasts remains to be seen because your sickness seems to be… contagious”.

“It’s not about defending them,” Batman said evenly. “It’s about doing what’s right,only because it’s right.”

Pain’s gaze didn’t waver.

“‘Right’ is a word for the majority, Batman,” he replied coldly. “What is right is right only because enough people agree that it is. And after what happened…” He gestured vaguely “It’s obvious what the majority will say. What they will demand.”

His voice sharpened.

“The President didn’t invent this outcome. She merely acknowledged reality and gave it a solution…. “And anyone who opposes it becomes the minority. Your side.”

He leaned forward slightly.

“People acknowledged your ideals because the law favored them to an extent. Mercy. Restraint. Endless second chances. But the law is changing,and you don’t like that. Not because it’s wrong, but because it no longer bends to your will.”

Superman clenched his jaw.

“You want to impose your morality on everyone,” Pain continued calmly. “And now you’re afraid that for the first time… you can’t so you want to prevent what needs to happen from happening “

A brief silence followed.

“Will you succeed?” Pain asked rhetorically. “Unlikely. Do I care?” A pause. “Not at all.”

“What I want now,” Pain said, his tone hardening, green eyes narrowing beneath the mask, “is for you to leave my stronghold.”

Batman didn’t move.

“And never return.”

Superman stepped forward. “Or what?”

Pain regarded him for a long moment.

“For now,” he said quietly, “nothing.”

“But in time,you will know” Pain said as the was silence for a while before Batman spoke.

“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Batman said. “And when we do, we’ll be back to take you in.”

Superman said nothing. He simply turned, cape billowing slightly as he followed Batman toward the exit.

“And I’ll be waiting,” Pain replied casually. “Though I doubt the taking‑in part.”

A faint tilt of his head.

“Still… I admire optimism.”

He remained seated, cross‑legged, his masked face resting against his hand, green eyes following them as they departed.

Lady Shiva stepped forward without a word, positioning herself beside them and gesturing toward the corridor.

The gates of the stronghold began to close close.

Pain could see all this with his Rinnegan.

They know now, Pain thought. They know I’m behind the President’s decisions,but they can’t prove it yet.

His fingers tapped once against the stone.

When they gather enough evidence, they’ll come for me. Not to talk. Not to debate.

His gaze hardened beneath the mask.

And in my current state… even with kryptonite, contingencies, and preparation… I will lose seven out of ten times.Even more times if the League is to fully mobilize.

Which is why Zetsu must arrive soon.

His lips curved slightly beneath the mask.

If I’m taken in, he’ll run everything in my absence.

If not… he’ll make sure I never stay captured for too long.Good thing that i have shosen to wear contact lenses,otherwise batman would have connected the dots by now’

White House – President’s Office

“Madam President,” Wonder Woman said evenly, her voice calm but firm, “we know you’re under pressure. But we can help you,if you give us a lead. Anything.”

The President exhaled slowly, rubbing her temples.

“For the third time,” she said, restrained frustration edging her voice, “I don’t know. And even if I did… I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”

She looked up.

“There’s too much at stake. My family. My life. Other officials. People you don’t even know are on the list.”

Cyborg shifted slightly, metal fingers flexing. “You’re saying you’re being coerced.”

“I’m saying,” the President replied, “that I have been given orders. And that soon,if I follow them,this will be over.”

“And what guarantee do you have that it ends there?” Cyborg asked. “What happens when he wants more?”

The President didn’t hesitate.

“Nothing,” she said. “But I don’t have a choice.”

Wonder Woman took a step forward. “Then let us help you.”

The President met her gaze,and shook her head.

“You can’t protect me and my family twenty-four hours a day,” she said quietly. “And you know that. Not to mention the other officials involved. Their families. Their children.”

She straightened in her chair, resolve hardening.

“I won’t gamble with their lives. As long as his demands are not outrageous, I can meet them.”

Cyborg’s optics narrowed. “You’re trusting the word of someone who threatened you.”

“I don’t have a choice in the matter”

A pause.

“If that’s all you came for,” she continued, standing now, “you can leave. I have another meeting in five minutes.”

She glanced at the door.

“This conversation never happened.”

Silence lingered.

Wonder Woman looked at Cyborg,then back at the President. There was no anger in her eyes. Only disappointment.

They turned to leave.

Behind them, the President sat back down, hands clasped once more.

End of Chapter .

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