DC: A New Beginning-Chapter 43: Trick

Before flying back to the cliff where they were staying, Viktor made sure to take a bath in the sea from hundreds of miles away.

He didn’t fly toward the cliff until the smell of blood was completely gone from his body.

"Rachel!"

He opened the tightly sealed escape pod door and found Rachel nowhere inside.

He was puzzled. He flew up into the sky, looked around, and discovered that sometime while he was gone, a small beach had appeared where two sections of cliff met nearby.

This beach was hidden in a very secluded spot, and it would be hard to spot even if someone climbed to the highest point of the cliff.

Rachel was standing at the edge of the beach, holding a branch the size of a finger, poking at the fish drying on a rack.

After sensing someone watching, Rachel looked up warily, and when she saw Viktor slowly descending from the sky, her expression returned to her usual blank expression.

"When did you set all this up?"

He stepped onto the soft sand and couldn’t help but laugh as he asked.

Rachel looked at him from the side, her voice was completely flat and emotionless, without any change in tone at all.

"There were too many fish left over before you left, and I didn’t know how many days you’d be gone. I used magic to sense there was a hollow in the nearby cliffs, moved the rocks off the top, and set up a spot to dry some fish and stock up."

Viktor was even more puzzled.

"But didn’t you say you were sick of eating fish?"

"Then what else am I supposed to eat?!"

Rachel’s emotions seemed to spike suddenly, and she raised her voice.

However, due to the emotional control from the Raven and the dark magic, Rachel’s facial expressions remained cold and controlled.

"Aquaman gave us two—oh! My God..."

Viktor finally remembered, instinctively reaching for his waist, pulling out the two distinct pearls—one black, one pink.

The two of them silently stared at the two pearls, and a faint killing intent slowly entered Rachel’s eyes.

He wiped an invisible bead of cold sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself.

"They didn’t get smashed... Ahem, I’ll head to Gotham later and find a way to turn these into cash. Tonight, we’re having a feast in Metropolis!"

Rachel sneered softly, then turned back and continued poking at the fish drying on the rack.

He awkwardly tucked the pearls back into his waist, then walked up behind Rachel and poked her back with his finger.

"What?"

Rachel said coldly.

"Can you check what Batman is doing right now?"

"He got back to Gotham a few minutes before you. He was searching in the Batcave where we had steak last time, and now he’s standing by the corner of the wall where I set up a sound-magic spell."

"AHA!"

He suddenly clenched his fist and slapped it against his palm, letting out a cheer as if releasing some tension.

Back on the Watchtower, when Batman had caught him off guard and analyzed him, if it weren’t for the years of learning to control his expressions and emotions, Viktor might have actually lost his composure right there.

He had to admit that reading about Batman in comics and movies gave him some ideas, but nothing compared to actually being analyzed by him in person.

It felt like Batman knew everything about him, and it was much more intense than anything he could’ve imagined.

It was true that Batman had caught him off guard because of that person, providing Batman with firsthand information that Viktor had never imagined anyone would obtain.

But that psychological profile, like being forcibly stripped naked by a stranger in broad daylight, had left a mark.

However, knowing that Batman had been obsessing over how Viktor found out about the Green Lantern Corps’ deployment in the solar system, and that he had been searching around in the hideout like a rat searching for answers, made him feel much better.

"Batman tore down the wall where I placed the magic."

Rachel mentioned it suddenly.

"Oh? The magic got destroyed?"

"No. My magic isn’t weak enough to require a physical medium to exist."

"Well, now I feel even better. Rachel, thanks to your magic, I finally got to let out some frustration. Next time, I’ll scare him even more..."

"Batman opened his communication. He’s warning whoever is on the other end that Batcave #76 should be permanently decommissioned, and that no one should come to this cave again."

Viktor’s forehead genuinely broke into a cold sweat, and his eyes widened.

"Batcave #76?! How many caves does he have under Gotham? There’s an entire city living on top of that ground. How is the foundation still intact?"

Then, Viktor realized something.

"Permanently decommissioning a whole Batcave. This guy has more money than conscience."

Seeing Viktor’s mood plummet, Rachel paused for a moment before speaking up to comfort him.

"It’s alright. The night Nightwing brought me that steak, I slipped a similar simple magic onto him on the spot. However, since I was rushed, it doesn’t work well over long distances. We can still listen in on Gotham from here."

Viktor’s lips slowly curled into a smile again, but then Rachel’s expression suddenly changed.

"He’s still in the cave. He’s telling Nightwing over comm not to come anywhere near Gotham recently...and damn it he smiled at me."

Seeing Rachel’s expression change to shock, Viktor suddenly began frantically searching his entire body, lowering his head to check every part of himself.

Even though Viktor had already taken off and cleaned his suit thoroughly while bathing hundreds of miles away...

’What if?’

He almost stripped completely, turning his black-painted Viltrumite battle suit inside out, checking it over and over for any extra bugs.

He scratched his head in frustration and then suddenly had an idea. He quickly pulled out the box containing the old yellow lantern ring.

After thinking for a few minutes, Viktor still couldn’t find any traces of listening devices.

As for whether it could be hidden inside the yellow lantern ring, Viktor didn’t think that was very likely.

Even if Batman had the technical capability, the ring was stored inside a box made of material that could block the fear spectrum itself.

Furthermore, the plan for this whole trip had included using the ring as a one-time disposable backup from the beginning.

’What would be the point of hiding something inside the yellow lantern ring?’

He stood still, utterly puzzled, until Rachel’s stomach let out a loud growl.

Then, Viktor snapped to attention.

He reached into her pocket in disbelief and pulled out two colorful pearls he had been carrying close to her the whole time that somehow survived every battle without a single scratch.

Rachel seemed to understand what he was about to do. She grabbed his hand, shaking her head frantically while squeezing out the most pained expression her face could manage.

"The dinner~."

Viktor closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and pinched the black pearl. He gently rubbed it, but the black pearl transformed into black pearl dust.

Viktor’s mood instantly darkened, and she could almost hear the sound of Rachel nearly fainting on the spot.

"This... forget it, we won’t search anymore. We still have one left. Let’s go exchange it for money first."

The pink pearl lying quietly in Viktor’s palm suddenly echoed with Batman’s deep and mocking voice.

"Your reaction time is impressive. In a sense, you and I are quite alike, but just not particularly lucky."

Viktor’s expression visibly changed, and he quickly squeezed the pink pearl, swinging his arm over his head.

However, the pink pearl continued to broadcast Batman’s voice.

"The pawn industry in Gotham is all controlled by Wayne Enterprises. That black pearl was worth around a hundred and forty thousand. The one in your hand right now would fetch three hundred thousand from me directly."

"Are you sure you want to throw it away?"

Viktor suddenly felt Rachel tightly clutching his thigh.