The interview carried on for several more minutes, with Lois shifting her approach.
Arias had been a brick wall thus far—unshaken, steady, and irritatingly composed. Every attempt to back him into a rhetorical corner had been t with a response so calculated, so effortlessly constructed, that there was nothing to latch onto.
Still, she pressed on.
"With the rger between LexCorp and Leviathan finalized, there's still speculation surrounding Lex Luthor's demise. So even believe you orchestrated it to seize control of his company. What do you have to say about that?"
Arias didn't blink. He maintained the sa poised deanor, fingers lightly interlaced as he sat back in his chair.
"Speculation is a wonderful thing, Miss Lane. It allows people to fill in the gaps where facts should be. Unfortunately, speculation is not evidence, nor is it truth. Lex Luthor was a man of many enemies. If soone had him removed, I assure you, I'd be more curious to know who they are than to take credit for their work."
Lois exhaled softly through her nose, recognizing yet another non-answer. She had expected him to deflect, but not with such surgical precision.
There was no overconfidence, no ego—just controlled responses designed to give nothing away. She could push harder, dig deeper, but the risk outweighed the reward. The footage would be reviewed before she got it anyway. If she lost her shot at future interviews with him, she wouldn't get another.
So, with a glance at the clock, she decided to pivot.
"With how things currently stand between you and the U.S. governnt, how do you feel your—"
**BOOM**
The sound rattled the classroom, distant but heavy.
A few of the students by the windows gasped, so recoiling in instinctive fear while others leaned in, murmuring.
"What was that?" one of them asked.
Lois snapped her head toward Arias, catching the slight furrow in his brow. Not concern—just mild interest. Explosions weren't uncommon in tropolis or Gotham. There were enough superpowered conflicts and criminal plots to ensure that.
Still, she asked, "What was that?"
Arias turned his gaze toward the window. The students clustered by the glass obscured the view, but through the gaps, he could see it—dark smoke curling into the sky, rising from so distant part of the city.
He was about to pass it off. A stray attack, a skirmish between caped idiots—nothing worth his attention. But just as he parted his lips to answer—
**BOOM**
A second explosion rang out. Closer.
This ti, the students didn't just murmur—they shouted. So pulled away from the windows entirely, while others scrambled to get a better look.
**BOOM** **BOOM**
Two more, one after the other, deep enough to send a tremor through the floor beneath them. The classroom lights flickered, and an automated alarm kicked in, filling the room with its wail.
"Warning. Threats detected within the city. Please evacuate to the nearest bunker. Warning. Threats detected within the city—"
A robotic voice repeated itself, calm yet chanical in its urgency.
The students outside reacted fast—so bolting without hesitation, others hesitating in confused panic.
They had done drills, but this felt different. There was no announcent of what the threat was, no prelude. Just chaos unfolding in real ti.
Lois rose from her seat, placing a hand on the desk to steady herself as she looked out the window. With the students dispersing, she had a clearer view—columns of smoke rising in separate locations, too far apart to be from a single strike.
This wasn't random.
Arias stood as well, though he carried no such tension in his posture. No wasted movent. He adjusted his suit jacket, then turned for the door.
"We need to leave. Now."
There was no urgency in his voice. Just certainty.
And when he started walking, he expected her to follow.
Arias didn't wait for Lois to respond. He simply turned and walked toward the door, his steps unhurried, unconcerned.
Before he could reach it, the door swung open. **Thud**
Tala stepped inside, her sharp eyes imdiately scanning him for any sign of distress.
"Mazter, are you okay?" she asked, her tone urgent.
Arias cracked a small, amused smile. Of course she would be the first to rush in, ever the devoted one. Behind her, Cheshire stood leaning lazily against the doorfra, entirely unbothered.
"If I wasn't, you'd likely all be worse off than ," Arias replied smoothly, walking past Tala without stopping.
Tala hesitated for only a second before bowing slightly. "Ah, of courze. Zis zervant waz being prezumptuouz."
Her voice held genuine contrition, but Arias knew she wasn't apologizing for questioning his safety—only for underestimating it.
Cheshire, watching the exchange with mild amusent, smirked as she finally peeled herself off the doorfra and fell in step beside him.
"Are we under attack, boss? That sounded pretty bad."
Arias shook his head as they stepped into the hallway. "No, but the city is."
As if on cue, both he and Cheshire turned their heads at the sound of hurried footsteps approaching from an intersecting corridor. Barbara and Billy rounded the corner, their expressions tight with worry.
Billy didn't bother with formalities.
"Mr. Markovic, the city is under attack!"
Arias didn't even slow his stride. "I'm aware."
His tone was flat, dismissive—he wasn't one for dramatics. He turned slightly toward Tala as they walked, giving a simple command:
"Tala, go with Billy and Barbara. Help the students get to the underground bunkers and keep them safe, should Academy asures fail."
Tala's lips pressed into a thin line, clearly displeased with the order. But she bowed her head and answered as expected. "Tala zhall obey."
Barbara didn't protest. Keeping the students safe was the imdiate priority. Still, as she glanced at Arias, she couldn't help but wonder—what was he planning?
Billy, on the other hand, was far more reluctant. He stepped closer, fists clenched, voice filled with determination.
"Are you going out there? I can help, I—"
Before he could finish.
Tala had already reached out and pinched his ear between two fingers, twisting it.
"Inzolence. Zhe mazter haz zpoken."
Billy yelped, trying to pull away, but Tala didn't let go.
Arias, not bothering to acknowledge Billy's struggle, spoke in the sa calm, asured tone. "I appreciate your resolve, but I'm not sending my students into an unknown threat. Go to the bunkers and wait for further information."
**Click**
The classroom door opened again behind them.
Lois stepped out, the caraman trailing close behind. She looked a little pale, nervous even, but beneath that was sothing else—excitent.
"If you're going out, take with you," she demanded. "I need to see and cover whatever is going on."
Arias barely spared her a glance.
"No."
His answer was instant, final. He turned to Cheshire instead. "Please look after Miss Lane and make sure she doesn't endanger her own life."
Lois' eyes widened in disbelief. "Hey! I'm not one of your students. You can't keep here if I don't want to—"
**Pa**
Lois' sentence cut off abruptly as Cheshire's hand struck the side of her neck in a precise, motion.
Her body went limp imdiately, and before she could hit the ground, Cheshire caught her by the arm, holding her up effortlessly.
Arias gave Cheshire a pointed look.
Cheshire just grinned. "Isn't that what you ant?"
Arias sighed.
"Just go to the bunkers."
And with a casual wave of his hand, he walked off.
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