"Blackmail?"
Barry blinked.
"I don't think they'd do that. The police officers in Gotham seem like good people. I even met Commissioner Gordon from the Gotham City Police Department. He's a good man, and we talked for a while. Honestly, if I were a cop in Gotham, I'd probably want to work under someone like him."
Barry spoke with genuine admiration for Gotham's police commissioner.
"Commissioner Gordon?"
The moment Barry mentioned the name, Adrian's expression shifted slightly.
"I think you're forgetting something important."
Hal picked up the coffee sitting on the table and took a sip before immediately frowning at the bitterness.
"Barry, you're a police officer too. Maybe not in Gotham, but you're still part of the same system."
"But I don't think that matters."
Hal leaned back in his chair.
"Seriously? Bureaucracies protect themselves. Politicians, government agencies, law enforcement, they all cover for each other when it benefits them. People inside the system rarely see the corruption clearly. Sometimes an outsider understands the game better than the people playing it."
Hal had never trusted American politics, and that distrust naturally extended to the police.
Even if he jokingly referred to himself as a "cosmic cop."
"Hmm."
Barry thought for a moment before looking toward Adrian.
"Still, I don't think bringing enhanced soldiers into Gotham is the right move."
"Why not?"
Adrian had been staring out the window at the city skyline. The afternoon sunlight reflected across the buildings, casting sharp beams of light across the conference room.
When Barry spoke, Adrian slowly turned around and looked directly at him.
"I..."
Barry suddenly found himself unable to continue.
"Because you think Gotham still has good people in it, that means I'm wrong?"
"No, that's not what I meant," Barry replied quickly. "I just think we shouldn't interfere too much."
Adrian looked away from him and picked up the coffee Hanna had prepared earlier.
The bitter taste spread across his tongue, grounding his thoughts.
"There's one thing you said that I agree with, Barry. Gotham needs change. A city with the highest crime rate in America can't continue like this."
As he spoke, Adrian pulled a file from beside him and tossed it onto the table.
"Read it."
Barry picked up the document with a puzzled expression.
The file was an investigation report.
The target was Oswald Cobblepot, better known as the Penguin.
"Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot," Adrian said coldly. "Owner of the Iceberg Lounge and one of Gotham's most powerful crime bosses."
"He's an engineer, a strategist, and a criminal genius who built an empire through extortion, smuggling, bribery, and murder. He has enough money to buy politicians, judges, and entire police departments."
"Even after multiple prison sentences, he always walks free. Every arrest becomes temporary. Every investigation disappears."
"He's funded political campaigns, manipulated elections, and expanded his influence across Gotham's underworld. Every major gang in the city either works with him or fears him."
Barry silently read through the report while Adrian continued speaking.
"I let people like him live. In return, they support unstable elements throughout Gotham. They provide money, information, weapons, safe houses."
"They think they operate beyond my sight."
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"But my eyes reach every corner of this city. I can find anyone I want to find. I can hear anything I choose to hear."
The room suddenly felt colder.
Even Barry looked uncomfortable beneath Adrian's stare.
"When the Green Lantern Corps arrived, Gotham's hidden factions immediately started moving again. Organizations that should've stayed buried started resurfacing."
Adrian slowly set down his coffee.
"The Court of Owls."
"The League of Assassins."
"These parasites survive in Gotham's darkness because nobody has ever truly torn them out by the roots."
Barry stared at him.
He had never heard those names before.
After a long silence, Barry finally spoke.
"I still think people like Commissioner Gordon should handle this. He's a good cop."
"Don't be naive, Barry."
Adrian's tone sharpened.
"You're not a politician, and you're not someone who understands how power actually works."
"For situations like this, good intentions mean nothing."
"You helped stop Congress from collapsing the American government. That violated plenty of so called American principles too, yet you acted without hesitation."
"That's different."
Barry tried to argue further, but beneath the table, Hal grabbed his arm and subtly shook his head.
Barry stopped talking.
The room fell silent.
Later that afternoon, Adrian returned to Kent Farm.
Martha was working at the Talon, and Rachel was still at school, leaving the farm unusually quiet.
The wind rolled gently across the empty fields while the livestock wandered near the fencing.
Adrian climbed into the barn loft and sat inside the old loft space that he and Clark used to call their Fortress.
The winter sunlight spilled through the wooden cracks in the barn walls, dividing the room between warmth and shadow.
Adrian sat directly between both.
Near the edge of the loft sat an old telescope.
Years ago, Clark had used it constantly before his powers fully developed. Mostly to spy on Lana Lang from across the fields.
Adrian reached out and brushed away the dust coating the telescope.
The metal surface was scratched and worn with age.
Ever since he and Clark drifted apart, almost nobody came here anymore.
Only Martha occasionally cleaned the loft.
Adrian slowly lifted the telescope and looked through it.
The distant landscape sharpened instantly.
His view settled on the Lang farm.
The faded farmhouse.
The overgrown pasture.
The aging stable.
Memories surfaced before he could stop them.
Then he saw her.
Lana.
She rode Tyson across the field, her laughter carried faintly by the wind.
Tyson slowed after a short run, stubbornly circling near the fence post instead of continuing forward.
Lana climbed down, smiling softly as she rubbed the horse's neck and whispered into his ear until he settled.
A moment later, she climbed back onto the saddle and urged him forward again.
The setting sun painted her silhouette gold and crimson.
Then suddenly, she turned toward Adrian's direction and smiled.
For a brief second, it felt painfully real.
Then the image vanished.
The fields were empty again.
Adrian slowly lowered the telescope.
He rubbed his forehead in irritation.
Why was he thinking about things like this?
He didn't love Lana.
At most, she was someone tied to old memories.
So why had his mind created that illusion?
Was he becoming sentimental?
Weak?
Adrian exhaled slowly and closed his eyes.
A few minutes later, footsteps echoed up the wooden stairs.
The floorboards creaked.
"Brother? It really is you!"
Rachel appeared at the top of the stairs wearing a purple coat with her hood partially hanging off her head.
"I saw someone up here and thought it might be you."
"Why are you here?"
Before Adrian could answer, Rachel suddenly gasped dramatically.
"Oh, I get it now."
She pointed accusingly at him.
"This is where you and Clark used to hang out all the time. Did you come here because you miss him?"
Adrian froze briefly.
His gaze unconsciously drifted toward the telescope again.
So that was it?
Not Lana.
Clark.
"No."
Adrian immediately denied it.
"I just came to organize some things."
He stood up and gestured toward the tools downstairs.
"Some equipment needs repairs. Some of it's completely useless now. The lawnmower's been broken forever too."
Rachel nodded sadly.
"Mom already sorted most of this stuff. She said she's giving away whatever still works because we don't really need it anymore."
Her expression dimmed.
"Mom said Dad used to handle everything around here. Even when the farm got difficult, he still kept it running."
"You and Clark helped too. Mom said the two of you could finish work faster than hired ranch hands."
"But after Dad died, everything changed."
Rachel looked down quietly.
"She said she can't manage the whole farm anymore."
"Brother," she asked softly, "Mom said Grandpa wanted Dad to inherit the farm. Is that true?"
Adrian walked over and gently placed a hand on her head.
"Grandpa wanted Dad to inherit it, yes. But Dad gave up a lot for this farm."
"He was a great football player. He could've gone far in college."
"When Clark and I got older, Dad made it clear he didn't want either of us trapped here forever."
"He wanted us to build bigger lives."
Adrian looked toward the sunset outside the loft.
"And he'd want the same thing for you."
"School. College. Falling in love someday. Living happily."
"That's probably all Dad ever wanted."
Rachel blinked thoughtfully.
"Do you think I'm normal, Brother?"
"No."
Adrian answered honestly.
"But Dad and I both want you to be happy."
Rachel nodded seriously like she understood everything.
Then she looked directly at him.
"Dad probably wanted you to live normally too."
"Why are you doing the exact opposite?"
Adrian genuinely didn't expect that question.
Rachel suddenly grinned mischievously before he could answer.
"I don't want to be normal either."
"I want to stay with you."
"No matter what you do."
"You taught me magic. You carried me when Trigon was hunting us."
"If the whole world turns against you someday, I'll still stand beside you."
For a moment, Adrian didn't know what to say.
He simply knelt down and hugged her.
Rachel quietly rested against him.
"You're lonely, Brother."
She didn't say it out loud.
She only thought it silently.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right!"
Rachel pulled a photograph from behind her back and handed it to him.
"You can't throw away something this important."
Adrian stared at the old photo.
It was a Christmas picture of him and Clark from years ago.
The room behind them glowed with colorful Christmas lights. Presents were scattered everywhere, and fresh cookies sat on the table.
Clark smiled brightly at the camera.
Adrian stood beside him looking completely expressionless.
He touched the edge of the photograph silently.
"See?" Rachel teased. "I was right. You miss Clark."
"No."
Adrian flicked her forehead lightly.
"Come on. Let's head to the Talon for dinner."
Rachel's eyes instantly lit up.
"Aunt Lana's vegetable pizza?"
"Yes."
"That pizza is amazing!"
Despite looking older due to her unusual growth, Rachel was still mentally just a little girl.
And food remained one of her greatest weaknesses.
Meanwhile, in Gotham City.
"Vegetable pizza?"
Clark stared at Amy in confusion while standing in the apartment kitchen wearing an apron.
After exposure to the interaction between lightning energy and green kryptonite, Amy had temporarily developed abilities similar to Clark's.
Including the appetite.
"Yeah," Amy said hopefully. "Can you make one?"
Clark rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I'm... not exactly good at cooking."
Back home, Martha usually handled meals.
Occasionally Adrian cooked too, though Clark once made the mistake of criticizing Adrian's cooking by saying it tasted nothing like authentic Chinese takeout.
Adrian stopped cooking for him after that.
"Honestly, anything you make is fine," Amy said with a smile. "Even toast."
As Clark started preparing food, Amy leaned against the kitchen counter.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"You and Adrian share the same birthday, right?"
Clark paused.
"Did you get him anything?"
"A birthday gift?"
Clark blinked.
"…No."
"If you hadn't mentioned it, I probably wouldn't have remembered my own birthday either."
Amy hesitated before continuing.
"So you still don't hate him?"
"A lot of people think Adrian's dangerous now. Even Commissioner Gordon thinks he's completely out of control."
Clark immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Adrian made mistakes, but he's still my brother."
"When I was younger, I went down a bad path too. Twice."
"I hurt Dad. I pushed him into a car once and injured his back."
"I said horrible things to my friends."
"I ran away because I hated how poor the farm was."
"I even robbed a bank."
Amy stared at him speechlessly.
"…Okay, that's actually insane."
Clark laughed quietly.
"But Adrian brought me back both times."
"He never gave up on me."
"So I won't give up on him either."
"No matter what he becomes."
Amy nodded slowly.
"I think you'll succeed."
Though privately, she wasn't sure Adrian still saw Clark the same way anymore.
Before either of them could continue, shouting suddenly erupted outside.
Clark walked toward the window and pulled the curtain aside.
The streets below were packed with people wearing masks and carrying signs.
The crowd stretched across the entire block.
Amy frowned.
"Who are they?"
Clark's expression darkened slightly.
"Protesters."
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