While Arias was on the move, the Justice League was also planning for him. Inside the eting area in the Hall of Justice, Batman had summoned all the mbers, with the exception of the younger team. This ti, even Aquaman, who hadn't attended prior etings, was present. The only absent mber was Superman, who was receiving treatnt at an undisclosed location known only to Batman and Martian Manhunter.
Superman's situation was known to all the mbers present, adding tension to the atmosphere. All the seated mbers remained silent, their eyes on Batman, waiting for him to begin.
After heaving a sigh, Batman stood up, his expression serious. "As of now, we can consider Arias Markovic to be one of the more important world-level threats present on Earth."
Batman's words weren't t with much surprise. In the eyes of the League, anyone capable of beating Superman was indeed a world-level threat, much like Darkseid.
Following this revelation, Green Lantern raised his hand. "Does that an we're actively going to go after him?"
Green Lantern's question seed like the most reasonable route to take after Batman's statent, but surprisingly, Batman shook his head. "No. As it stands, even if we do successfully apprehend him, he will have to undergo trial in the U.S., but I very much don't see that happening. Worst of all, if Slade Wilson wins the election, he has solid ground to provide Arias Markovic with a presidential pardon."
This news wasn't at all well-received, especially by Green Arrow, who held a grudge against Arias after what he did to Flash and Black Canary.
"So what? You called us here just to tell us we can't do anything about him?" Green Arrow angrily slamd his hand on the table and stood up.
Batman remained silent, which in itself was an answer.
"Tsk. I joined this group to do so good, not let dangerous criminals run free just because they manipulated the system. This ti it's Arias Markovic, but what if more criminals are left to run free?" Green Arrow clicked his tongue in frustration and walked out, venting his opinion as he did so.
After he left, the others turned to Batman, who sighed inwardly but maintained a calm exterior.
"I know it's hard to accept, but we can't deal with Arias Markovic without criminalizing ourselves. More than that, Arias has clearly shown he can kill multiple mbers of the League. This warning shouldn't be taken lightly. I'm not asking us to forget what he's done, but to act cautiously and figure out how we can deal with him without losing lives in the process." Batman's argunt was sound; they couldn't act recklessly.
Aquaman, who had been silent until now, finally raised his hand. "Is that wise? I an, who's to say he won't beco more dangerous with ti?"
It was a reasonable question, but Black Canary answered before Batman could.
"That's very unlikely. You've all seen it yourselves. If his motives were truly sinister, we'd be powerless to stop him as things stand. He's an extremist, willing to go to great lengths to achieve his goals, but as far as we know, his goals themselves aren't bad. So, until a solution is reached, we lose nothing by letting him be. Right?" She glanced at Batman, having roughly guessed his line of thought.
Unlike other world-level threats, Arias hadn't shown any desire to harm humanity. In fact, he seed to be doing the opposite. With the amount of good he'd done outweighing the bad, it was no surprise that Batman chose a passive route—for now. He still hadn't co up with a way to stop Arias.
Batman could only bla his failure to notice the early signs that Arias posed a threat. But with Arias's rise being unprecedented, even Batman was caught off guard. For now, his only option was to bide ti, plan contingencies, and focus on dealing with the human supremacy group.
Unbeknownst to Batman, by choosing this route, he was giving Arias more than enough ti to plot against the League and transform it from a re annoyance into a tool, all while the League's focus remained on a group that Arias had created to fool the world, masking both his and the Light's true intentions.
...
But even Batman couldn't have anticipated the next piece of news that would reach the world.
Later that evening, just as news regarding the HS virus was beginning to dwindle due to the appearance of a cure, a new headline caught the world's attention:
**[Breaking News: Wanted fugitive Arias Markovic has turned himself in. Less than an hour ago, we received a tip that a jet suspected of carrying him had landed at Gotham International Airport. Authorities were surprised to arrive on the scene and find him already in custody, with airport officials stating he had turned himself in. The details are still vague at this mont, but we believe—]**
Batman, watching this piece of news from the Hall of Justice, cut off the feed and left the room.
As soon as he stepped out, he encountered so of the mbers still present: Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter.
Flash was the first to speak. Upon noticing the tense atmosphere, he couldn't help but feel concerned. "I take it the news I'm seeing can't be considered good?"
He trailed off as he saw Batman's lack of reaction to his attempt at humor.
"No. He's planning sothing. The question is, what? Does he really intend to go through with a trial and wait for Slade to win, or is it sothing else?"
Batman couldn't determine what Arias hoped to achieve by turning himself in. His initial thought was that Arias was indeed waiting for Slade's presidential bid to succeed, which would lead to a pardon.
But with Arias, Batman had learned from his mistakes. He wasn't about to accept the most obvious possibility.
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