After his bath, David headed out to the café where Superman was waiting for him—but this time, he wasn't alone. Sitting across from the Man of Steel was none other than Batman.
"Don't you usually work at night? Isn't it nighttime in Gotham?" David asked with a small smile as he walked in, clearly amused.
"I have everything handled," Batman replied calmly, his tone as steady as ever.
David chuckled and took a seat, placing his order. Before he could even mention anything about soda, the staff brought him one automatically, setting it on the table with a knowing look. David couldn't help but laugh softly,
"About the fire," Batman said, catching David's attention and making him raise an eyebrow as he opened his soda and took a drink.
"I already found the person behind it. You scared them, so now they're targeting you," Batman continued, his voice calm but firm. David nodded lightly, thinking it over for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
"Let's relax for now… and you need to take a step back from all of this. It isn't healthy," Superman said softly. David only shrugged in response, clearly indifferent to the concern.
"I'm someone who's supposed to be dead. The only reason I'm still here is to make my daughter's sacrifice meaningful," David said quietly.
Superman opened his mouth, then closed it again, unable to find the right words. There was nothing he could say that wouldn't sound hollow. Batman, on the other hand, remained silent for a different reason—he understood. In fact, he even gave a small nod, clearly sharing that same grim resolve.
"Wait, are we going to make this a common thing? We should all gather here—friends," David said with a faint smile. The two exchanged a glance, neither saying a word, but neither rejecting the idea either.
"Did you guys see the movie War of Worlds?" Superman asked, and David's face immediately twisted in disgust.
"I don't blame Ice Cube for his poor acting, but seriously—who in their right mind thought a movie like that would work?" David said, shaking his head.
"I haven't watched it," Batman replied flatly.
"Well, don't. It's not a good watch," David said before his expression softened into a smile. "You know what movie actually caught me off guard this year? Heads of State. I loved it."
"Really? I thought it was a seven at best," Batman said calmly, leaving David momentarily speechless.
"I haven't watched it… Now I have to watch it," Superman said with a small smile. "But on that note, what's your favorite movie? Mine's To Kill a Mockingbird."
"Never heard of it," David replied casually.
"It's a good movie," Batman added before pausing for a moment. "Mine is The Mark of Zorro."
"I've heard of that one, but never watched it… You guys are really into some old-school movies," David said with a shrug. "Well, mine is Code Geass."
"That's not a movie," Batman pointed out flatly, earning another shrug from David.
"To me, TV shows are just super-long movies broken into parts," David replied, only to be met with two blank stares that made him sigh as he thought for a moment.
"I don't really have a movie I like all that much," he admitted after a pause. "But if I had to pick one I could rewatch over and over again without getting bored…"
"Okay, maybe Free Guy, Bullet Train, and the Fast and the Furious movies," David said after thinking for a moment. "I like movies where I can just shut off my brain and enjoy them. I'm more into anime since it gives the author more freedom to be creative with their plot and world-building—that's why I like Code Geass. But if we're talking about a movie I like for its plot… that would have to be Sinners." He let out a quiet sigh after finishing.
"I guess I should get into more anime… any tips?" Superman asked with a small smile.
"Try Boku No Pice. I haven't watched it yet, but I've heard a lot of good things about it," David said casually. Superman nodded in response, while Batman's eyes narrowed slightly. He stayed silent, though a faint trace of amusement lingered beneath his mask.
[Superman#1] — Fuck! Superman, don't listen to him. That's the kind of shit that'll have you bleaching your eyes.
[Nobody69] — Lol, I actually find it nice seeing these guys act like normal people for once.
[RamenGuy] — You idiots, this is all part of their plan. They're trying to make us drop our guard—acting all casual and human so we think they're just like us. Then boom, they take over the world.
[Your ancestor] — To the guy above, yeah, because clearly the most powerful people on the planet need an elaborate plan to trick us into thinking they're normal before taking over the world.
[RamenGuy] — You laugh now, but tomorrow, just remember you've been warned. No one can be that powerful; it goes against the laws of the universe. Everything you've seen has just been tricks, and you all fell for it.
The rest of the stream rolled on as David and the others stayed at the café, the conversation drifting from one topic to another. Hours passed with the three simply talking. David, as usual, spent most of that time eating, fully taking advantage of the fact that no matter how much he ate, he'd never gain a single pound.
"Well, I guess I should go make the people who think they have power regret targeting me. A lot of people are about to be crippled," David said with a tired yawn as he stood up from his seat.
"No killing," Batman reminded him, his tone firm but calm.
David nodded, giving him a casual thumbs-up in response. With that, Batman handed over a small folder containing everything Batman had managed to collect. The moment their exchange was done, the Dark Knight vanished into the shadows.
David turned to Superman, offering a quick goodbye before teleporting away.
He returned home and settled in, pulling the man's phone toward him to comb through every call, message, and breadcrumb of data he could find. He called Mister Terrific for backup, sending the files and screenshots over so he could run deeper scans and cross-reference the numbers and locations. While he waited for Terrific's analysis to come back, he kept digging himself—checking timestamps, tracing recent contacts, and mapping the few leads that had survived the chaos.
It didn't take long before a clearer pattern began to emerge. The trail didn't lead to a lone contractor or a petty gang; the evidence pointed toward something more organized, a shadowed network operating behind the scenes.
In short order, it became apparent that the assassination attempt had been commissioned through a hidden organization. The theory was solidified with Terrific's analysis result, which was sent back to him.
"Maybe I should have tortured those 3… they are most likely dead," David said softly. "Who has the power to have a 3 cannon fodder be able to force a soldier to kill me… That shortens the list down."
"The person has to have an organization behind them," David muttered, leaning back in his chair as his mind pieced everything together. "The leader has to be a schemer—someone too scared to draw my attention directly, yet fearless enough to try me."
He stared at the ceiling in thought, speaking softly to himself. "Oh, it couldn't be… Slade. It's not Luthor either, and it's definitely not anyone from the government. No, this feels different—it's someone who just wanted to test a theory, hiding behind layers of protection to keep their hands clean."
He exhaled slowly, mind spinning with possibilities. Slade didn't have subordinates and such things, at least not from what he could recall. Luthor was the ruthless type to do this, but it wasn't Luthor; he hadn't had any outside contact while locked away. It couldn't be anyone from the government. Why would they risk making themselves look bad before the whole world?
He got up and made his way to the bathroom, the ever-present cameras following him as always. The stream remained live, the angle carefully fixed above his chest to avoid showing too much, yet the intrusion was still enough to make his eyebrow twitch in mild irritation.
The government really was meticulous—keeping constant eyes on him, even during moments that should have been private. It was almost impressive how far they'd go to monitor his every move.
Sitting there, he let out a faint sigh, his thoughts drifting back to the earlier evidence. "It should be the League of Assassins," David murmured, his tone calm but decisive. "Even if I'm wrong, it's worth erasing those guys."
The instant those words left his mouth, the world seemed to still for just a heartbeat. And then, without warning, a violent explosion tore through the house. A blinding flash filled the screen as the entire structure erupted outward, the force of the blast shaking the nearby neighborhood. In one instant, the feed went from calm stillness to fire and debris, swallowing the home in a wave of destruction.