HALL OF JUSTICE -DBAY
Hal Jordan lay unconscious in a reinforced bed, his arms encased in dical braces. Around him stood Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Shazam, Cyborg, and Batman. The atmosphere was thick with tension. Everyone's gaze was fixed on Bruce, as if he were on trial.
Superman broke the silence first. "I hope you're satisfied with the outco, Bruce. Hundreds of soldiers and inmates dead… and that's just in Belle Reve alone."
"I'm not happy with it," Batman replied, "but it was the least destructive outco."
"Are you even hearing yourself, Bruce?" Superman pressed. "This could have been avoided. A lot of lives could have been saved."
Batman's eyes narrowed. "If I had brought the information to you, you would have gone and told him… and hoped he would let it all slide because you said so. I know him better than all of you. Things could have been even worse than they are now."
Wonder Woman stepped forward, eyes blazing. "You presu too much, Bruce. You think you're the only one capable of weighing consequences? Bold of you to assu we can't keep secrets. What's the point of being in a team if you can't even trust us?"
Batman's jaw tightened. "Trust wasn't the problem. I was running damage control for an outco that was almost inevitable. A full mobilization of the League wouldn't have gone unnoticed. By acting alone, I pressured the governnt to shut down the project while it was still in its infancy. What I hadn't accounted for was Waller disobeying orders and proceeding with it in secret. The point is, by acting alone, I forced the governnt to abandon it early, saving countless officials. If I hadn't, Max wouldn't have stopped with Waller—he would have caused the entire governnt structure to collapse overnight, leaving critical positions vacant and potentially leading to even worse outcos."
Shazam slamd a fist on the edge of a console, voice booming. "Who gave you the right to choose who lives or dies?!"
"No one," Batman replied evenly. "I just saved as many as I could while preventing the worst-case scenario."
Barry's voice cut in sharply. "Worst-case scenario? Tell that to Hal when he wakes up—and to the families of everyone who died in Belle Reve and on Rose Island. I can't believe you even have the gall to say sothing like that."
Cyborg finally spoke, voice calm but firm. "I may not agree with how Batman approached the situation, but he's right about one thing. If Max had gone after governnt officials unchecked, we'd be facing a full-scale war between him and the entire country."
Superman turned to Cyborg, incredulous. "So you're defending him?"
"No," Cyborg said. "I'm just being realistic. That doesn't an I have to like it. We have to face the fact that Bruce disregarded the team and acted alone on a sensitive matter—but his actions may have saved countless lives. Max would have held the entire U.S. chain of command accountable, which would have been catastrophic. And we cannot ignore that Max was wronged; he had every right to be angry."
"Are you saying that killing everyone involved—including an innocent child—was deserved?" Superman asked, voice heavy.
"No," Cyborg replied. "But they had to be held accountable."
Batman's eyes swept the room. "Let's face the facts that stopping max without casualties was almost impossible he even proved that without proper planning and preparation we don't stand a chance when he nested us all combined,Instead of bickering amongst ourselves, we should be strategizing how to take down Max next ti—and how to prevent the governnt from doing sothing stupid."
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A Day Later – Max's Hideout
Max had fully rested and was back at his peak physical condition. He descended the steps and entered a room, only to find White Zetsu dangling by one leg, the last chain still holding it up. It had already broken free from the others and was nibbling furiously at the remaining link.
"Thank goodness you're back! Get off these chains—I don't know how many teeth I've broken trying to bite it off!" the creature exclaid.
"Hold still," Max said, pulling out his scythe and cutting the chain. White Zetsu fell hard on its head.
"Ouch! Couldn't you have done that more gently?" it complained as it scrambled upright.
"Turn around," Max commanded.
"Why? Hey—don't tell —"
"Just do it," Max interrupted, his irritation growing.
"Ok, ok! Sheesh," the creature muttered, finally obliging.
Max tapped two fingers at the back of its head. Black markings spread from its neck, forming a tattoo that faded monts later. White Zetsu rubbed its neck.
"What was that? It kinda stung," it asked.
"That's a tattoo to show that you've joined the organization," Max replied.
"Ahh… you an the Akatsuki you ntioned?"
"Yes," Max confird. He then summoned an Akatsuki cloak from his system space and handed it to the creature.
"Wow! We even have matching cloaks!" White Zetsu said.
"Yes, now put it on," Max ordered.
White Zetsu ripped off its torn clothes and slipped into the cloak.
"How does it look?" it asked, patting itself.
"It's painful to look at," Max muttered.
"Is that… hate I'm hearing?"
Max ignored the question. "Starting now, you are White Zetsu of the Akatsuki. I hope you won't betray —there will be consequences."
Max narrowed his eyes and released his chakra. The floor cracked beneath him, a gust of wind swirling dust from the roof. White Zetsu fell to its knees, gasping, until Max stopped and turned, walking away.
Recovering, the creature coughed. "What—was that?"
Max said nothing and continued walking. White Zetsu ran to keep up.
"So, where are the other mbers? Or is it just you and ? And what's the goal of the organization?"
"It's only us. There's no goal. You do what I tell you—or die," Max replied, unflinching.
White Zetsu made mocking gestures behind Max. He turned sharply.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," it said, putting on an innocent expression.
Passing by the Gedo Mazo, White Zetsu ran up to the massive statue, thrust its head inside the gaping mouth, and scread, waiting for an echo that never ca.
"You'll know in ti," Max said.
"You're free to go and do whatever you want. I'll call you through the tattoo when I need you," he added.
"Nah, I'll stick with you for now," White Zetsu said.
Max's eyes narrowed as he studied the creature, its squirming under his gaze. Finally, he turned and walked on.
They arrived at another door. Max paused, taking a deep breath.
"I need to be alone for this," he said.
"Why? I also want to see—" White Zetsu started, but Max glared. The creature stopped mid-sentence and sank into the ground, leaving only its head visible.
Max placed his hand on the door. Sealing marks glowed briefly before fading. He opened the door and imdiately jumped back as a punch narrowly missed him.
Before him stood Thena, her expression determined, her loose hair tied back in a knot.
Although she didn't know how she had survived being stabbed by the red-eyed man, she still wanted to escape. She had tried to manipulate the plants around her, but—strangely—she couldn't feel them. Sothing was blocking her. Not that she could fully control them, but she was always able to sense them before.
But no matter her fists will have to make do ,she would rather go down fighting than beco a prisoner. Her gaze flicked to the man in front of her. He hadn't moved after dodging her clumsy punch. She scanned the area quickly for any possible escape routes. She knew she couldn't beat him head-on, but she could strike and make a break for it.
Tensing, she sprinted forward. The man remained still, making no attempt to evade. She threw a punch at his gut—only for her fist to pass straight through him.
In an instant, she found herself back in her original position, the man still standing opposite her.
"What… how… what's going on here?" she thought, her mind racing as she tried to analyze the situation.
She then charged at Max again, shouting a war cry, her leg arcing in a powerful kick. But, once more, her foot passed straight through him. She stumbled, losing her balance, as the smoke coalesced back into Max.
"Are you done?" he asked calmly.
"What do you want from ?" she demanded, trying to steady herself.
"I want to talk," Max replied.
"I don't trust you," she said, taking a cautious step back.
"You don't need to. You just need to listen to what I'm going to say," he said.
"And what if I don't want to listen?" she shot back.
"Then you'll be trapped here," Max said, his eyes unwavering.
She gritted her teeth and bolted, sprinting toward the exit. As she passed the massive Gedo statue, she ran up the stairs, only to encounter Max again and again—dozens of tis along the way. Every ti she tried to strike him, her punch passed through him, and he simply turned to smoke, watching her with the sa calm expression.
Finally, she reached the entrance. Relief surged in her chest—until she blinked and realized she was staring at Max once more. Her surroundings had shifted; the entrance she had just run toward now looked exactly like her starting point.
She froze, dumbfounded, her mind racing. No matter how fast she ran or how hard she fought, she kept ending up in the sa place, trapped in an endless loop.
End of Chapter
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