Shadow Monarch in DC-Chapter 65: Damsel in Distress ?

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Arthur leaned back slightly against the wall, his arms folded as he finished explaining his 'theory.'

Jason let out a low whistle, shaking his head slowly. "Well, well... Project Cadmus, huh?" His tone was light, but the edge in his voice said otherwise. "This is way bigger than I thought. I mean I figured i knew it was a government dirty little project, but this isn't little at all.."

A dangerous smile crept across Arthur's lips. "What now, Hood? Realizing you might be a little out of your depth?" His voice dripped with mockery, blue eyes gleaming in the dim light.

Jason snorted, stepping closer. "I'll still go after them," he said without hesitation. No bravado, just cold, unwavering certainty.

Arthur tilted his head, amused. "I guess you're really soft when it comes to innocents."

For a moment, Jason said nothing. His gloved fingers curled into fists at his sides. There was a weight behind his silence an old, raw wound barely stitched together.

Arthur caught it. "Well?" he asked, though his tone lacked any real malice.

Jason exhaled through his nose. "You wouldn't understand," he muttered.

Arthur's smile faded. he respected it. But Arthur already knew everything there is to know about him.

His mind shifted to something else, a meeting request from Lex Luthor himself. 'Of course, that bald bastard is involved... is this why he wanted to see me, i mean it could be possible that he is attempting to capture me like Kara...' If Cadmus was pulling strings, there was a good chance Luthor had a front-row seat or worse, a hand on the controls.

"Maybe you're right, Hood," Arthur admitted, his voice turning thoughtful. "I might get myself involved this time. But..." His fingers drummed lightly against his sword hilt. "There are a few things I need to handle first. I can't move blind, not when I have no clue where they're hiding and operating."

Jason adjusted his helmet slightly, his red bat symbol gleaming under the flickering light. "Leave that part to me," he said. "You do whatever you need to first. I'll find them."

Arthur raised a brow. "And when I'm ready?"

Jason smirked beneath his helmet. "I'll find you."

Arthur chuckled softly, low and cold. 'I'll find you, huh?' Without a word, he gestured with his hand subtly, and in an instant, a shadow demon slithered silently toward Jason, attaching itself to him, invisible to everyone but Arthur. Insurance.

Jason didn't notice. His attention drifted to a metal box sitting against the wall, an oversized containment crate with reinforced locks.

Arthur followed his gaze and smirked. "How long do you plan on keeping that poor soul in there?"

Jason chuckled a dry, almost dangerous sound. "Oh, that?" He strolled over and yanked the box open with a flourish. "Figured you'd get a kick out of this."

A muffled voice erupted from inside. Harley Quinn, bound and gagged, squirming furiously. Her pale skin and platinum-blonde hair contrasted sharply with the grime of the box. She glared daggers at Jason, blue eyes blazing with outrage.

"Mmmph! Mmmh—mmph!"

Arthur blinked, unimpressed. "She listened to everything."

Jason shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Found her trailing your Joker-wraith." He tilted his head toward the still-squirming Harley. "And get this, he didn't try to harm her. Which is weird, considering he shreds through everyone else, i did observe him for a while."

Arthur's brows lifted slightly in surprise. "Interesting."

"Yeah, I thought so too," Jason continued. "I was gonna hand her over, but..." He knelt down, eyeing Harley with a mock-friendly tone. "I've got other plans for her now."

Arthur chuckled.

Jason grinned behind his helmet. "Harely, you'll be joining us too."

Harley, still gagged, flailed harder. Her muffled voice grew louder, angrier.

Arthur tilted his head. "She's trying to say something."

With an exaggerated sigh, Jason ripped the gag off. "Alright, spill it, Quinn."

Harley coughed before glaring at both of them. "Jeez, ya two got some real control issues! What, ya think just 'cause I'm cute I can't keep secrets?" She grinned wide, lips curling mischievously. "Besides, if ya wanted to gag me, Red, all ya had to do was ask."

Arthur rubbed his temples. "Just... gag her again."

"With pleasure." Jason stuffed the gag back into her mouth, muffling her protests once again.

Arthur stood up, adjusting his coat. "Be seeing you, Hood." Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and strode toward the exit.

Jason leaned against the crate, watching him leave with a thoughtful expression. "Yeah... you will."

****

The rain poured down in heavy sheets, drumming against the cracked asphalt. Arthur walked through it all like a shadow come to life. His boots splashed through shallow puddles, but he moved with calm purpose unbothered by the cold rain sliding down his face. The dim glow of street lamps flickered as he passed beneath them, his presence casting a long, dark silhouette across the wet ground.

His blue eyes burned faintly in the night as he mulled over his conversation with Jason.

"He's hiding something from me," Arthur murmured, his voice low and thoughtful. His breath curled in the chill air. "I believe he's honest about what he said... but there's another reason he's still willing to go after Cadmus, even after what he heard from me..."

A distant car engine roared past, its red taillights smearing through the rain. Arthur barely paid it any attention. His mind was elsewhere.

He exhaled sharply. "We should expect clones.. There is potential for me to get strong soldiers.." His voice was cold, edged with certainty. "Superman clones... maybe hers as well" Arthur's mind trailed to someone else.

Arthur pulled his phone from his coat pocket, the screen lighting up against the rainy darkness. Droplets slid down the glass as his thumb swiped over an old notification a message from Kara.

[Hey, Arthur! I really enjoyed our date. You're... different. In a good way.]

There was a pause before the next line, like she had hesitated.

[I'd love to do it again sometime, but I've got things to handle first. Don't think I'm running away—I WILL be back. Promise.]

A small, almost playful touch at the end. So very her. Confident, but there was something else beneath it a weight he hadn't caught before.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "That's an old message..." His voice was low, unreadable, but his mind spun faster, Kara always came off as carefree, bold even, but this... this was different. Whatever she was dealing with, it wasn't simple. And now, with Cadmus and their clone operations on his radar...

"Let's see where you are now."

He slid the phone back into his coat with a flick of his wrist and closed his eyes. The world around him faded, rainfall, distant sirens, the restless pulse of Gotham all dulled as he reached out with the power thrumming beneath his skin.

Like a ripple through darkness, his consciousness surged, following the unseen thread that connected him to the shadow soldier he had quietly attached to Kara days ago. his mind latched onto his hidden sentinel.

And then he saw.

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Through the shadow's eyes, the world sharpened into harsh, sterile clarity. Dim lights buzzed overhead, flickering in a cold, industrial room. Metal walls. Reinforced. A place designed to hold powerful things.

Kara stood in the center, bound by energy restraints that crackled faintly around her wrists. Her blonde hair falling over her face. But even like this she was rather calm looking.

Arthur's jaw tightened. "Found you..." His voice was low, edged with frost.

But something was wrong.

The shadow moved revealing more of the room. He scanned every inch no guards, no windows, just heavy containment tech humming in the background.

This wasn't some ordinary cell.

Arthur's glowing eyes narrowed. "Where are you really...?"

He focused harder, pushing the shadow deeper, mapping the area. Layers of reinforced steel. High-tech surveillance. "Don't tell me you got yourself captured again..."

And then it clicked.

Luthor again, or Cadmus, maybe both.

His eyes snapped open, twin orbs of electric-blue blazing in the rain-soaked darkness.

The cold air around him seemed to shiver with raw power as the shadows at his feet writhed like living things. His lips curled into a sharp, dangerous frown.

"Exchange."

*****

Cadmus—Sublevel ??

The place was full of sound of machinery, cold, calculated, and pulsing with the energy of experiments too dangerous to ever see daylight. Inside a sleek, high-tech conference room, two of the most dangerous minds in the world faced off across a steel table.

Lex Luthor leaned back in his chair, the picture of calm authority. His tailored suit was flawless, the sharp glint in his eyes was anything but patient. He tapped his fingers against the polished surface, measured, controlled, but there was an edge beneath it. A storm waiting to break.

Across from him, Amanda Waller stood with her arms crossed imposing, unyielding. The cold fluorescent lights cast harsh shadows across her face, but her expression was Dangerous in its own right.

Luthor's voice cut through the air, smooth, arrogant. "This new clone needs to be studied further. I'll oversee it myself, there's great potential in this one."

Waller didn't blink. "Potential doesn't mean a damn thing if you can't control it." Her words were sharp as razors. "You've already lost two of our most valuable assets, Project Doomsday and Supergirl. The ones you took without permission."

She took a step closer, her presence heavy and commanding. "And let's not forget, despite all your brilliance, you spent the last few days running unsanctioned experiments with no results to show for it."

Luthor's eyes flashed with irritation, but he smiled. Cold. Ruthless.

"I will get results." His voice dropped to a lethal calm, every syllable coiled with authority. "And don't forget, Waller, I'm the one funding this entire operation. I can take whatever I want."

The words hung in the air like a loaded gun.

For a moment, the room was silent thick with tension.

Then Waller chuckled low and dangerous.

"Careful, Luthor." Her tone was quiet, but it carried the weight of a warning. "You're useful, but no one's untouchable."

She leaned forward, her dark eyes locking onto his with cold precision. "Not even you."

Luthor's smile only widened, but there was no humor in it, only the sharp gleam of a man who never loses.

"We'll see."

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If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.

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