Chapter 200: The Sick Truth Of The World Part 2

That morning, as the world digested the lies fed to them via the various forms of media, hate toward Oliver Queen grew, overshadowing all the past good he had done for the city and the world.

Even in the midst of such impossible circumstances, some still felt he deserved leniency, bringing up the many good deeds he'd done as both Oliver Queen and Green Arrow.

These voices of reason though held little say, in the end, nothing could be done to overturn the situation.

Following the news, the league had no choice but to convene an emergency meeting, under Batman's order.

Although their time together was brief, many knew that Green Arrow was a good person, especially Batman who knew him far better than anyone due to his profiling of people.

So they gathered in what was a neutral meeting place arranged by him, due to their split from the government and in turn the hall of justice.

It lacked the luxury and modernized the hall of justice possessed and seemed almost abandoned, but none paid attention to such minor details, instead focusing on the matter at hand.

To open the floor and end the silence, an impatient Flash spoke up and asked, "so… is it true?"

When told where to meet, none of the members were told anything, so it was only natural to be curious.

Flash's genuine question though sparked some displeasure from others, Green Lantern to be exact.

"Are you being serious? This entire situation doesn't make any sense, just what the hell is going on? Are you going to keep us in the dark or tell us?" Green Lantern frowned at Flash before turning his anger toward Batman.

Although arrogant most times, Green Lantern couldn't stand the injustice being shown to someone he knew would risk his life to save others.

Batman could understand his feelings, but right now, he needed to ensure the same mistake didn't happen.

Even though they had no proof, Batman was without a doubt sure that Arias was behind this and in time, intended to deal with it.

But right now, the situation was beyond a simple solution and sharing his true thoughts on the matter would only lead stubborn people like Green Lantern down the same path that Oliver took.

So, in reply to Green Lantern, he chose to lie.

"It's not completely false, it being our fault that is. I didn't call you here to discuss Oliver's situation, I called you here to warn you about being careful going forward. I have a strong reason to believe that the Human supremacy group is targeting us… apparently also those around us."

Batman spoke with a heavy and serious tone, making it hard for anyone to doubt his words.

In their minds, he had no reason to lie to them, so his words were extremely credible in their eyes.

To prevent them suspecting Arias, he chose to give them a knew target. When in reality, he had deeply investigated the Human Supremacy group, only to find their origins and funding shrouded in mystery.

Something that Arias definitely couldn't do… alone. With such troubling thoughts in Batman's mind, the last thing he needed was more members going after Arias and ending up like Oliver.

He now put Arias into a league of his own, considering him as someone the rest of the league couldn't deal with using brute force alone.

But it's not like they were completely clueless. Black Canary who found the whole situation to be suspicious couldn't help but ask, "what about Arias Markovic? He has reasonable grounds to target us as well."

Canary's question did indeed spark this thought and caused the others to look at Batman, waiting for an answer.

As if prepared though, he answered swiftly, "it's possible, but so far I've found nothing that ties him to this. If he really wanted to deal with us, he would have come for you all already, as I don't doubt he knows all of our real identities."

This answer served to show just how dangerous Arias was, as if a warning to deter the others. But it also showed that Batman had indeed done his research, so it's credibility was greater.

Canary neither denied nor accepted the answer, instead just keeping her arms crossed, quietly exchanging glances with the other members of the league.

Green Lantern was simple minded, so he believed.

"If it was a setup then how do we help Oliver?" The cause aside, Green Lantern now focused on the solution.

And although not everyone was fully convinced, they knew saving Oliver was of greater importance.

Batman was unsure of how to proceed on this one. Knowing that Arias wanted Oliver to suffer, if they helped, wouldn't it mean they were inviting disaster upon themselves?

Under normal circumstances, Batman would have little qualms with this… but knowing innocent people could get hurt was very difficult to risk.

"For now, nothing. If we show support, it will only put restrictions on us, if we show hate, it will only worsen Oliver's situation. This cannot be changed until we gather solid evidence, so until then, take measures to protect your friends and loved ones. I'm already making measures for Superman until he recovers."

Batman's answer was hard to swallow but they could see the truth in this words. Even if they wanted to argue and do something for Oliver, they couldn't, why? Because their loved ones and family were in considerable danger now.

Batman could only wonder if Arias had planned this so thoroughly. Given what he'd shown so far, Batman couldn't help but wonder.

But in reality, Batman and the world as a whole was completely fooled.

Because while he and league directed their attention at protecting their loved ones and friends, Arias was executing the next phase of his plan.

Sitting comfortably in his office, Arias's attention was focused on his monitor which showed a split screen of two individuals on video call, Rose and Cheshire.

"I have a joint task for you two." He revealed cryptically, showing a small smile that caused a mischievous grin to appear on Cheshire's face. "Oh? Is it going to be as fun as last time?"

Unlike Cheshire, Rose showed a serious demeanor befitting of an answer and just asked, "what's the task and how do you want it done?"

"Geez, so straight to the point, but then I won't get to stare at the boss's handsome face." Cheshire showed a faked sad face while Rose simply ignored her.

Bringing their brief bickering to an end, Arias soon revealed his task.

"The task, is to rescue Oliver Queen and I want it done quietly."

Hearing this task, both Cheshire and Rose couldn't help but show surprise at the same time.

"What?"

A/N: Real ones already know what's coming… no, it's not me.