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SM/DC Chapter 32 : Batman is Watching
🕑 Added 2025-02-16 20:22:18 +0000 UTCJustice League Watchtower :
The holographic screen flickered as Cyborg played the last moments of LexCorp’s security footage.
A grainy but unmistakable image of Arthur Blackwynd appeared, standing motionless. But what caught the League’s attention wasn’t just him—it was the dark, humanoid figure at his side.
The shadowy entity—one of his soldiers, identified as ‘Blade’—raised its weapon with inhuman precision. In a flash, a series of dark projectiles shot out, striking multiple security cameras before they could capture anything more.
The screen went black.
Silence filled the room.
“That’s an interesting ability,” Green Lantern muttered, breaking the quiet. “Controlling independent fighters?”
“More importantly,” Hawkman grumbled, arms folded, “who the hell is that?”
Cyborg leaned back, arms crossed. “His name’s Arthur Blackwynd. Not long ago, he joined us on a mission.” He gestured at the screen. “I managed to track his brother all the way to Lex’s building while Arthur was fighting the Titans. But somehow, he still got there." Cyborg shook his head. “And before you ask—no, he’s not an alien. But I don’t know what to classify him as.”
A moment of silence passed before Batman finally spoke.
“Arthur Blackwynd.”
The room turned toward him as he continued, his voice level and precise, as if he had rehearsed the words in his head.
“Abilities: Shadow-based necromancy. Capable of summoning and controlling creatures that act as his soldiers. Enhanced physicality. Skilled in swordsmanship and unarmed combat. Possesses an ability similar to telekinesis but limited to objects and his weapons. Has knowledge of the supernatural and mystical. Likely has an unknown form of teleportation.”
The room went dead silent.
Green Arrow narrowed his eyes. “How the hell do you already know all of this?”
Batman’s expression remained unreadable. “It’s my job.”
Before anyone could question him further, Batman tapped a control on the table, and a new video feed replaced the black screen.
“This,” he said, “was pulled from one surviving camera.”
The League watched intently as the shaky footage showed Arthur and Kara fighting Doomsday. Though the angle didn’t capture the full battle, The video was shaky—likely from the shockwaves of their battle—but for a brief moment, they could make out explosions of force, movements too fast for the camera to track but it was clear enough to see the level of destruction. The ground trembled, shadows moved unnaturally, and Arthur held his ground against something that should’ve torn him apart.
The video ended.
“Okay, that’s definitely something,” Flash said, scratching the back of his head. "Dude fought that and still managed to live?”
Batman barely spared him a glance. “That's the problem...”
Superman’s eyes narrowed. "Meaning?"
"Meaning," Batman said coolly, "we still have no idea what his true intentions are. You don’t gain that level of power without a goal. And I don’t like mysteries."
Wonder Woman leaned back in her seat. "He fought against Lex and took down Doomsday. If he had ill intent, we would have seen it already."
Martian Manhunter, who had remained silent, finally added, "Unless he is simply waiting for the right moment to do something."
Superman exhaled sharply, clearly frustrated, but before he could argue further, Flash piped up, looking between them.
"Okay, so worst case scenario, he’s a guy with a god-tier power set and a grudge against bad people like Lex" Flash shrugged. "If he wanted to be our problem, we’d know by now."
Superman exhaled, arms crossed. "Well Bruce, thanks to him, at least we know Kara is safe. And we have Lex but we can’t keep him here for long."
“I’ll extract more from Lex about his experiments.” Batman's tone was cold, matter-of-fact.
Flash arched a brow. “you think he w...”
Batman didn’t even look at him. “He will.”
The weight behind his words made even Green Lantern shift uncomfortably.
Superman exhaled sharply. “And what about Kara, Bruce ? She was with this Arthur. If she trusts him, that has to count for something.”
Batman, however, wasn’t convinced. He steepled his fingers, eyes narrowing at the frozen image of Arthur on the screen.
"I'll watch him myself."
-
Jump City - Blackwynd Estate :
Arthur was jolted awake—not by his own will, but by someone shaking him.
His groggy eyes snapped open to see Kara standing over him, arms crossed, looking far too awake for someone who had nearly collapsed from exhaustion the night before.
He blinked. “…Why are you waking me up?” His voice was still rough with sleep. “…No, actually—why are you still here?”
Kara shrugged. "Because your mother."
Arthur frowned, still trying to shake off the sleep. "What does that even mean? What about my mo—" Then his mind caught up.
Eyes wide, he sat up straight. “Wait. My mother? My actual mother saw you?”
Kara smirked. "Yeah. Figured I’d stick around and hang out, and i came here to wake you up considering how she was looking for you."
Arthur groaned, rubbing his face. "Kara, I swear, if your male version shows up at my doorstep because of this—”
She waved him off. “Relax. I already flew over to National City and came back, they know I'm back.”
Arthur stared at her. “…You left?”
Kara nodded. “Yep.”
“…And then you came back?”
Another nod.
Arthur sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. “…Why?”
Kara just smiled innocently. “Because I wanted to.”
Arthur threw his head back onto the pillow. "Of course you did."
Before he could process anything further, a soft knock came from the door.
Then, before Arthur could even tell them to wait—
His mother walked in.
She looked at Kara, then at Arthur, then back at Kara. A slow smile spread across her face.
"Oh. So this is the girl we talked about."
Arthur bolted upright. “No. Also, we didn’t talk about any girl.”
Except Kara, completely unfazed, extended her hand.
“Hi! I’m Kara Danvers.”
Arthur’s entire soul deflated. He pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply. “…You’re really not helping.”
His mother’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Oh, so this is serious enough for last names?”
Arthur whipped his head around. “Excuse me?”
His mother ignored him, instead shaking Kara’s hand warmly. “It’s nice to meet you, dear. I was wondering when my son would finally—”
Kara just grinned, clearly enjoying this. “Finally what?”
Arthur cut her off immediately. “No”
His mother ignored him again, turning back to Kara. “So, are you two dating, or is he still in his brooding phase?”
Arthur glared at her. “Don’t encourage her lets just leave.”
As Arthur grabbed his jacket, clearly planning to leave and avoid any further awkwardness, his mother called out from the kitchen.
“Oh, by the way…”
He froze, mid-step, already regretting the moment he stepped foot back in the house. He turned slowly, eyes narrowing. “What now?”
His mother didn’t even look up from her phone as she spoke. “Something happened in your brother’s office. He had to head to Metropolis for some business, but he’s fine, don’t worry about it.”
Arthur nodded, not giving away anything. His mind briefly drifted to the chaos that had unfolded in his office, the Titans, Lex. the tension. But he kept it to himself—there was no need for his mother to know about that. He wasn't sure how much he actually wanted to share, even with her.
"Yeah, as long as he's fine," Arthur repeated, his voice steady. He didn't want to worry her He looked at her, shifting his focus back to the present. "Anyway, I'll be heading out for school then I'm going for some trip, might take a week for me to return maybe more.”
His mother raised an eyebrow. "Oh, with Kara?"
Arthur froze for a moment, and before he could respond, Kara was already there, understanding the unspoken tension in his expression. She quickly chimed in with a wide, innocent smile, "Yes, it's a school trip... right?"
Arthur’s facepalmed in exasperation, but Kara just shot him a playful grin. His mother looked between them, her eyes narrowing for just a second, but then she shrugged and smiled. “Right... Well, take care then.”
As his mother turned to leave. Arthur’s eyes glinted with quiet determination as he discretely extended his reach with one of his shadow soldiers, placing it in the room where it could keep a low watch over his mother, just in case. He didn't like the idea of leaving her completely unprotected, especially with everything going on.
As they stepped out of the house, Arthur couldn’t help but mutter to himself, his voice barely a whisper beneath his breath. “Enough wasted time... Time to hit that tower.”
