275 Chapter 270: Bait Part 10

After disappearing through the boom tube in La maz, Arias reappeared in through a boom tube somewhere the league could have never predicted: Gotham, or to be exact, the Ark Academies. 

There, inside one of the many research centers, the boom tube appeared in a bland-looking lab that housed various alien technology. As the boom tube appeared, Arias casually walked out and was met with the sight of three women: Cheshire, Tala and Dr. October. Despite not being an expert in Apokoliptian technology, Dr. October was very eager on the subject and, due to her morally gray mentality, Arias made her the research head of this particular department.

As Arias appeared, not in his metallic suit but just as himself, all three had no idea what exactly he had gone to do. Dr. October knew better than to pry, given how closely she had worked before with some rather unsavory people. In comparison, Arias was much better, and the less she knew, the better.

Cheshire was of the same mentality, although sometimes she would jokingly inquire, if Arias didn't divulge any information on a particular topic, she would simply stay curious and not overstep her bounds. And going even a step further, Tala would completely not bring up the matter unless Arias did so himself.

Right now, although Tala's abilities were quite useful, Arias could truthfully get around without any issue. However, he brought her along to not only throw across the image that he was dependent on his allies but also to show them the vastness of his assets. With the logic behind this being simple: if people feared and respected you while they thought you weren't that powerful, then imagine how much more so they would if you were. 

More importantly, it was always easier to connect to people when they thought you also had the potential to lose. If they knew you were invincible, they would always be wary of your actions and would be falsely loyal. But if he instead showed them a fake image of weakness and was still able to defeat those they considered powerful, then they would naturally be drawn to him more. As a bonus, he could slowly feign growth in his power so that those around him think that his growth was natural.

"Vwelcome back, mazter. I hope your trip waz vwell," the moment Arias stepped out of the boom tube, Tala didn't hesitate to shuffle forward and bow her head, welcoming him back. Cheshire, on the other hand, tilted her head slightly and rested her hand on her hip while narrowing her gaze at Tala. "And they call me the pick me girl." 

Although not well-versed in modern terms and lingo, Tala could tell when someone was talking bad about her, so she also frowned and turned her head back to Cheshire before warning, "Who are you to stop me from vwelcoming my mazter back?" 

Cheshire simply shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not stopping you from doing anything, miss servant. What I meant was, you don't look sincere, you know. Back when I first started, I would welcome the master back by kneeling down, completely naked," Cheshire teased. 

Surprisingly enough, Tala showed a surprised gaze as she believed Cheshire's words. "Vwhat!" she exclaimed before turning her head to Arias. "Forgive me for my lack of knowledge on zhiz matter. I vwill dizrobe now and properly vwelcome you." 

Arias waved off the suggestion. "She's joking, there's no need for that."

Hearing this, Tala immediately frowned and turned her gaze back at Cheshire, who only grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "Whoops, silly me, I must've remembered it wrong."

Dr. October simply observed this, her arms crossed while slightly shaking her head. Arias then approached her and stated, "I hope they weren't too much of a problem in my absence." To which Dr. October laughed and shook her head. "No, no. I actually had the chance of meeting Tala before when I was invited to assist on a few projects for Cadmus, so her unique character isn't something new to me. As for the other one, aside from being a bit too bold, her presence was quite the welcome addition. It can get unimaginably boring down here, but science favors the persistent." "Was your journey successful?" she then asked. 

"Very. Just be sure to delete the data pertaining to the trips made, and I don't think I need to tell you that this should stay quiet." 

The doctor smiled at this. "And what are you implying, sir? The only thing that happened today was me going over research data collected over the week and uploading it into the main database." 

Arias smiled at Dr. October and stated, "It's a shame not everyone appreciates your intelligence. Well, I'll be on my way. You have a good night."

Having said that, Arias then turned to Tala and asked her, "Tala, if you will, please." Tala immediately responded, "Of courze, mazter," before her hands took on a purple glow that engulfed the figures of both Arias, Cheshire and herself, soon vanishing on the spot.

Once they left, Dr. October stared at the machine used to initiate the boom tube before sighing. "The things I go through for the pursuit of science. Oh well…I may as well start fabricating that data." 

Meanwhile, back at the now-ruined harbor in La maz, the junior Justice League managed to safely descend to the ground and rush over to the scene. Whereas both Superman and The Flash had recovered, as Arias hadn't injured them all that badly, with Superman already looking to be at 100%. 

But despite not losing anyone else, the atmosphere present at the scene was anything but good. Because after getting up, Superman finally got to see the pitiful state Oliver had been left in by Arias, his corpse lying limply next to his torn arms. It was a sight that could invoke many emotions. 

As the junior Justice League got close; Megan averted her gaze, whereas Artemis covered her mouth in shock. Aqualad and Robin looked at the corpse with trembling gazes, whereas Zatanna simply chose not to come any closer.

Superman hovered near the corpse, ripped off his cape, and used it to cover Oliver before turning his attention to Artemis and the rest of the team, who were most shaken by this. He wanted to give them hope, to say that the person who did this would be brought to justice, but how could he when he himself wasn't sure of this? When the opponent wasn't someone he could beat?

This is exactly what Arias wanted, and so began the crumbling of the league.