"Is there?"
Adrian's tone settled into a measured calm.
"I'm only reflecting on Hal Jordan's fate."
"From what I hear, you don't feel much about it."
Mera raised an eyebrow, studying him closely.
"I expected at least a hint of regret. Hal Jordan has been quite useful to you."
That remark drew a faint frown from Adrian.
"Useful? You mean a tool?"
"Isn't that how you see people?" Mera replied without hesitation. "Pieces to be used when convenient."
"I'm not as heartless as you make me out to be," Adrian said, his voice sharpening slightly. "Do you really think I'm some comic book villain?"
"Not entirely," Mera answered, her gaze turning thoughtful. "But not far from it either."
There was something layered in her expression.
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have taken me away from Arthur."
"You weren't taken," Adrian replied bluntly. "You're not an object. You make your own choices. If you want to leave, nothing is stopping you."
"If I ignored the threats you made before, I might believe that."
Mera stepped closer, her eyes fixed on his, searching for something beneath the surface.
"Admit it, Adrian. You didn't want me returning to Atlantis with Arthur. That is why you made those threats. There is a trace of possessiveness in you."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"I still remember the way you looked at me the first time. It was strange, like recognition. But we had never met."
Her voice softened, but her curiosity sharpened.
"So tell me, did you already know me?"
Adrian remained silent.
Mera's perception had always been sharp, but this cut deeper than he expected. She had noticed something most would have missed.
"Why so quiet now?" she pressed, her tone playful.
"You know what I can do," Adrian finally said, lifting his gaze to meet hers. "I can see across vast distances. I can hear every whisper on this planet if I choose. Privacy is an illusion."
His eyes held hers steadily.
"That includes you."
Mera did not flinch. Instead, her smile deepened. She rested a hand lightly on his shoulder.
"I doubt you would spend your time watching someone like me, especially when you consider my world primitive. If anything, your attention would be on your goddess on Themyscira."
Her fingers traced his shoulder briefly before she pulled away with a casual shrug.
"Sometimes," Adrian said quietly, "the closer you get to the truth, the more dangerous it becomes."
"I know," Mera replied, blinking slowly. "But I also know you wouldn't let harm come to me. Not if you insist on keeping me near you."
There was no hesitation in her confidence. She leaned into the moment, her presence deliberate, her allure unmistakable. She wanted answers, and she intended to draw them out.
Adrian exhaled softly.
"The truth is, I can see fragments of certain destinies. When I saw yours, I chose to change it."
"Destiny?" Mera echoed, feigning consideration. "That is an interesting explanation."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then tell me, what was my destiny?"
"A tragic one," Adrian said evenly. "You marry Arthur. You have a son. He dies. And your marriage collapses after that."
Mera froze.
The words lingered between them, heavy and unsettling.
"No need to thank me," Adrian added lightly. "Consider it a small intervention."
He stood, ready to leave.
Mera caught his hand before he could take a step.
"Are you certain that's true?"
"Of course. Does it bother you?"
"Bother me?" She paused, her expression turning contemplative. "How could it? I have not lived any of it. There is no attachment, no regret."
She released his hand and drew a necklace from around her neck.
A teardrop-shaped crystal rested against her palm, glowing faintly.
"My mother gave me this," Mera said. "She told me it contains the purest essence of the ocean, blessed by the Sea Goddess. It reflects the path of my destiny."
She held it up between them.
"It has never changed. Not even after you appeared."
Her smile returned, subtle but confident.
"Perhaps you have not altered anything at all. Perhaps you are simply part of the path that was always meant to be."
Adrian stared at the pendant, momentarily caught off guard.
He had reshaped so much of this world. Yet her words introduced doubt.
Had anything truly changed, or had events always been meant to unfold this way?
"Do you like it?" Mera asked, offering the pendant to him. "My fate no longer matters as much. Maybe you should use it to examine your own."
Before he could respond, she shifted the topic with ease.
"That is enough about destiny. We need to go to the Metahuman Prison. I need your help handling Hal Jordan. And Sinestro has been asking to see him. You will need to oversee it."
Her mood had clearly lifted. There was a quiet satisfaction in her expression.
She had unsettled him, and she knew it.
As for the idea of marrying Arthur, she dismissed it entirely.
Adrian held the pendant for a moment longer before nodding.
This woman was far from ordinary.
He even wondered, briefly, whether Diana would find her an equal in battle.
---
Night fell over Gotham.
After parting ways with Constantine, Batman moved swiftly through the city.
His cape spread wide as he launched himself forward, propelled by the grappling hook's pull. The upgraded suit, modified by Lucius Fox, enhanced his strength and durability, though he reserved its full capabilities for more formidable threats.
For now, he relied on precision and control.
Below him, Gotham breathed.
Crowds drifted through illuminated streets, neon signs flickered, and the city's restless pulse echoed through every corner. From above, it looked almost alive, shifting between decay and renewal.
Batman moved through it all unseen.
Then he heard it.
Boots. Organized. Military.
His expression hardened as he adjusted course, avoiding the patrol of enhanced soldiers.
Minutes later, he reached Canal Street.
Landing on a rooftop, he scanned the area with binoculars. Everything appeared normal at first glance, but the tension in the air suggested otherwise.
He activated his communicator.
"I'm in position, Oracle. Pull everything you can on the target, especially recent calls."
He was tracking a black market dealer linked to magical artifacts, items Constantine believed could open communication with the so called Demon Realm.
Oracle responded quickly.
"I found something. A prepaid phone contacted the target. Bought with cash nine days ago. Suspicious."
"Trace it."
"Already tried. The phone is inactive, but traffic cameras caught the buyer leaving the store. Running facial recognition now."
A brief pause.
"Got him. Tyson Hawkins. Gang leader from New York's Chinatown. High profile, violent. He controlled a large portion of Gotham's southern drug trade before disappearing after Homelander took over. He's been in frequent contact with your target."
"Send me his last known locations."
Within moments, data streamed into Batman's system.
The most likely location was a food processing plant on the eastern edge of Canal Street.
Batman memorized the layout and moved.
The factory was heavily guarded.
Armed men patrolled every entrance.
A stronghold.
Batman adjusted his approach.
He entered through the roof, descending silently into the building's core. Within seconds, he reached the power control room.
Click.
Darkness swallowed the factory.
Panic spread instantly.
A shadow moved above them, silent and swift.
Then it struck.
One enforcer was dragged into the darkness without warning, his body slamming into a shelf with a violent crash.
Fear ignited.
"It's Batman!"
"Shut up!" the leader barked. "Check the power!"
But the darkness was already working against them.
Batman moved unseen, striking with precision. One by one, the gang members disappeared into the shadows, their screams echoing through the warehouse.
Gunfire erupted wildly, bullets tearing through crates and metal shelves.
It changed nothing.
Batman reappeared behind a gunman, twisting his arm and forcing him to fire into his own ally's leg. Before the others could react, he vanished again, dragging another victim into the void.
Their discipline collapsed.
Fear replaced strategy.
By the time the lights returned, the damage was done.
Bodies littered the floor. Some groaned in pain, others lay unconscious.
Tyson Hawkins stormed in, rage boiling over.
"What happened?" he roared, grabbing one of his men.
"Batman," the man stammered.
Hawkins threw him aside and bellowed into the open space.
"Come out! Face me!"
Batman watched from the shadows, preparing to strike.
Then a gunshot rang out.
Hawkins dropped instantly.
Batman's eyes narrowed.
Someone else was here.
Not Adrian's people. If it were, they would not be hiding.
He drew a Batarang, grip tightening.
He waited.
The next move would decide everything.